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UC Riverside UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Embodiments of Korean Mask Dance (T'alch'um) from the 1960s to the 1980s: Traversing National Identity, Subjectivity, Gender Binary Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9vj4q8r2 Author Ha, Sangwoo Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE Embodiments of Korean Mask Dance (T’alch’um) from the 1960s to the 1980s: Traversing National Identity, Subjectivity, Gender Binary A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Critical Dance Studies by Sangwoo Ha June 2015 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Linda J. Tomko, Chairperson Dr. Anthea Kraut Dr. Jennifer Doyle Copyright by Sangwoo Ha 2015 The Dissertation of Sangwoo Ha is approved: Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside Acknowledgments I would like to take this opportunity to thank several people who shared their wisdom and kindness with me during my journey. First, Dr. Linda J. Tomko, who offered to be my advisor, introduced me to notions about embodying dances past, critical thinking, and historical research approaches. Not only did she help guide me through this rigorous process, she also supported me emotionally when I felt overwhelmed and insecure about my abilities as a scholar. Her edits and comments were invaluable, and her enthusiasm for learning will continue to influence my future endeavors. I offer my sincere gratitude to my committee members, Dr. Anthea Kraut, Dr. Priya Srinivasan, and Dr. Jennifer Doyle. They all supported me academically throughout my career at the University of California, Riverside. Dr. Anthea Kraut was there at the beginning of my graduate school career, always made time to listen when I had concerns, and encouraged me to complete this dissertation. Dr. Priya Srinivasan provided steady encouragement and helpful insights into utilizing ethnographic methodologies. Dr. Jennifer Doyle offered insightful comments and resources on gender and sexuality studies. I am also grateful to Dr. Namhee Lee, professor in the Department of Asian Languages & Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles, for her helpful comments during this dissertation’s early stages. This dissertation would not have been possible without fourteen interviewees, including professional mask dancers and scholars, who generously shared their private and public experience with me and provided me with rich resource and information. The professional dancers in mask dance preservation societies are Geun-Hwa-Seon Lee, iv Sang-Ho Lee, Sun-Ok Kim, Sun-Hong Kim, Hong-Jong Kim, Sang-Woon Park, and Seon-Yun Gang. The scholars and former student activists are Hui-Wan Ch’ae, Suk-Man Kim, Ae-Ju Lee, Yang-Myung Han, Gi-Sung Nam, Jae-Oh Son, and In-Suk Kwon. They allowed me to access their memories and experiences through many hours of interviews and observations. My doctoral studies have been funded by numerous scholarships and grants from Maxwell H. Gluck Fellowship, Bright World Foundation, Humanities Graduate Student Research Grant, and Korean American Scholarship Foundation. Teaching Assistantships in the Department of Dance and the Department of Ethnic Studies also provided invaluable financial support. The Young Oak Kim Center for Korean American Studies at UCR has regularly supported me and I am also grateful for the opportunities to work with the YOK Center as a student assistant. I also want to thank the faculty and my colleagues in the UCR and Ewha Women’s University dance programs. I would particularly like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Edward T. Chang, Prof. Wendy Rogers, Prof. Susan Rose and Dr. Jacqueline Shea Murphy from the University of California, Riverside, and Prof. Young-Hee Kim from the Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, Korea. I really appreciate their guidance and generous support over the course of my studies. Additionally, I want to express my special thanks to my colleagues and friends with whom I often had inspiring conversations: Ji-Hyun Yu, Kye-Min Yang, Jung-Won Kim, Szu-Ching Chang, Gabriela Mondoza-Garcia, and the many other great people who provided me with emotional support. v Finally, I want to extend my deepest appreciation and gratitude to my family. My parents, Jai-Eek Ha and Myung-Ok Lee, and my oldest sister, You-Jin Ha, provided love and sustained spiritual and financial support during this long project. I would like to thank my other sisters, Youn-Jin Ha and You-Jung Ha, and my three nieces, Ye-Won Kim, Si-Won Kim, and Irene Kim. I would never have come this far without their love and support. vi ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Embodiments of Korean Mask Dance (T’alch’um) from the 1960s to the 1980s: Traversing National Identity, Subjectivity, Gender Binary by Sangwoo Ha Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Critical Dance Studies University of California, Riverside, June 2015 Dr. Linda J. Tomko, Chairperson This study examines embodiments of the traditional Korean mask dance, t’alch’um, in the post-Korean War period. The military government and university student activists in South Korea utilized the t’alch’um as a pivotal vehicle for establishing “Korean” identity and subjectivity during a period of nation-building, from the 1960s to the 1980s. However, they each used different methods and pursued different goals. The government established the Cultural Heritage Protection System in 1962 with the goal of safeguarding the original form of the mask dance. One impact of the government’s system was to consolidate the power of the dictatorship. In contrast, university student activists recognized the necessity of preserving tradition and establishing an identity and subjectivity for the public. They created their own theater, called madanggŭk, by connecting the principle of satire from the mask dance with socio-political and economic issues that resulted from the dictatorship’s oppressive policies. Through madanggŭks, the vii activists sought to promote “Koreanness” that originated from minjung (common people) and one important outcome was their expression of resistance against the dictatorship. Assessing these two reconstituting activities in the post-war era, the main purpose of this dissertation is to shine a critical spotlight on how the reconstitutions of dances past were differently appropriated and the impacts they exerted on national identity and subjectivity. Although one of the goals of some developing reconstitutions of the mask dance was to challenge previous conservative and hierarchical ideologies, vestiges of 19th- century Korean Confucian patriarchy remained active in social and cultural conventions. This study analyzes how gender binaries in hierarchical relationships were circulated in reconstitutions of the t’alch’um. I examine how patriarchal family structures, sexual division of labor, and stereotyped images of women are depicted in androcentric storylines of the mask dance and madanggŭk. I also analyze how vestiges of Korean Confucian patriarchy influenced relationships between men and women in performing groups. This project employed several methodologies: oral interviews; analysis and interpretation of archival materials and secondary literature; and movement analysis of the t’alch’um and madanggŭk as captured in photographs. While in South Korea from 2011 to 2013, I gathered written and visual documents and conducted interviews with professional dancers and scholars. Few moving image records exist for period reconstitutions of the mask dance and madanggŭk. Limited numbers of still pictures are available for t’alch’um and madanggŭk productions in this period. However, using photos, I studied various performing factors: what body parts performers primarily utilized, how viii performance environments appeared, how performers located themselves in relation to spectators, and what costumes performers wore. These methods enable me to argue that neither the Korean government reconstitutions nor university student performances of madanggŭk escaped from the reach of Confucian philosophy, sovereign-centered system, and hierarchy, even though they each pursued democratic revolution from the 1960s to the 1980s. This study approaches the two reconstitutions with perspectives gleaned from several disciplines as it addresses cultural production in connection with politics, industrialization, and gender role issues. ix Table of Contents Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………..iv Abstract………………………………………………………………………………vii Editorial Practice…………………………………………………………………….xiv List of Figures……………………………………………………………………….xvi Introduction: Spiritual Resonance from Korean Mask Dance T’alch’um……….1 Chapters…………………………………………………………....………......6 Methodologies…………………………………………………………………9 Endnotes……………………………………………………………………...13 Chapter 1: Korean Sociopolitical situations from the 1910s to the 1980s……….14 Ideological Conflict and Korean War………………………………17 Establishment of Independent Nation and Aspiration for Democracy, 1953 – 1988………………………………………………...19 Democracy in South Korea…………………………………………20 National Identity and Subjectivity in South Korea…………………26 Growing Attention to Tradition from the 1950s to the 1960s……………….33 How Folklore Groups Imagined Their Methodology………………35 How Korean Government Applied Japanese Cultural Preservation Laws to the Korean Cultural Heritage Protection System………….38 Confucianism and Feminism in Korean Society…………………………….39 Prolonged Confucian Ideology