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scriptures. While yuhui mocked Confucian scholars, the According to Chujae Giyi ( , “Collective Essays Yangban playing act made fun of noblemen. 'e masks of the of Chujae”) by a late Joseon dynasty瑼뱊笫沌 poet Cho Su-sam Bongsan noble characters portray the /rst nobleman with a double ("%&5-"43#), the mask dancer Tak Munhan, who lived from cle* lip, the second nobleman with a cle* lip, and the bache- the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century, performed lor son of the head family with a crooked face and nose (Fig. the Monk Manseok dance. 'e phrase in the book, “Hwang Talum as a "). 'ese distinct features are a way of expressing the popular Jini struts with her face down, and Monk Manseok, dressed consciousness that rejects social inequality and criticizes the in a robe, dances while staggering around ( privileges of the nobility. )” matches the scene of the nojang澳㦇䑗婡俸逆澘
触 playing act Social Satirical On the other hand, the Nojang (old monk) playing 焪圾圾薊銿糦in the present-day mask drama, in which the robed nojang act was constructed using the traditional Monk Manseok /rst appears, taking faltering steps and struggling to keep his dance. 'e elements performed, centering around chaebung footing. 'erefore, it can be inferred that the nojang playing Comedys (makeshi* wooden stage decorated with silk in /ve colors), act of today’s mask drama originated from the folktale of which can be found in the recently discovered color painting Monk Jijok and Hwang Jini. Nakseongyeondo ( ), correspond with sanhui Secondly, Bongsan Talchum carried highly progressive featured in the chapter訒䧯㵯㏨ of seonggi ( , performances themes for the time, re2ecting the popular consciousness Jeon Kyung Wook such as puppet shows and mask dramas)與⚧ in Volume " of that rejected the established order and demanded new values. Professor of Korean Language Education Figure 1. Nobleman masks appearing in the Yangban playing act Gyeongdo-japji ( , “Seoul Miscellany”) written by Yu Korean mask dramas critically present real problems caused at Korea University of Bongsan Talchum © Intangible Heritage Digital Archive Deuk-gong ("%3#-"41%).☒ꌬ곂䗄 'e chapter includes the phrase, “For by social inequality. 'e names of the characters already hint sanhui, they lay platforms and put up coverings, and perform the themes to be addressed in each playing act. 'ey include the lion, tiger, and Monk Manseok dances ( nojang , somu (young shaman), sinjangsu (shoe peddler), Transmission and Performance staging of mask dramas and also improved the standard of ).” Two makeshi* platforms 㻗䨢篙啴┫䊣
are portrayed yangban , malttugi (Yangban’s servant), yeonggam (old man) Background of Bongsan Talchum performance. 'e Musician Management Agency under the ✑梙軦剾牅⦹薊at the base of the Nakseongyeondo—they are chaebung. and halmi (old woman), which are mostly names indicating Bongsan Talchum, or the Bongsan mask-dance drama, was local government o!ce actively supported the genre by pro- Performers are presenting lion-mask and tiger-mask dances the character’s social status or class, with few speci/c indi- originally transmitted in Giryang-ri, Dongseon-myeon, viding musicians to play incidental music until around "#11. in front of the chaebung while the nojang in a kudzu robe and vidual names used. 'is shows that the mask drama aimed Bongsan-gun, Hwanghae Province in the northern part of A*er the Japanese annexation of Korea led to the dissolution a gisaeng (female entertainer) stand on the right chaebung to address issues of social status and class, rather than the Korean Peninsula. However, with the relocation of admin- of the Musician Management Agency, musicians were invited and the drunk and red-faced chwibari (old bachelor) and a characters’ personal issues. istrative bodies, including the district o!ce to Sariwon in from the performers’ village in Gachang-ri. gisaeng on the le* chaebung. 'ese images describe none Noblemen’s privileged status revealed by a satire on yang- "#"$, the mask-dance drama and its transmission activities other than the Monk Manseok dance (Fig. 5). A di6erent type ban, nojang’s deceptive ideology revealed by a satire on the were also transferred to the area. In South Korea, Bongsan Bongsan Talchum as a Social Satire with Progressive Ideals of performance from Manseokjung Nori (Monk Manseok apostate monk, yeonggam’s male tyranny as exposed through Talchum had been transmitted since its restoration by Bongsan Talchum is a social satirical comedy that re2ects shadow play), it is a portrayal of the famous folktale of Monk his love triangle with his wife and concubine—these are all performers who originated from the North, including Jin-ok the social realities of the late Joseon period. In addition to Jijok and Hwang Jini in the form of mask dancing7. relics of a feudal society. Bongsan Talchum, which asserts the Kim and Cheon-sik Min, and was designated as Important breaking away from its ritualistic origins, Bongsan Talchum North Korean scholar Kim Il-chul explains that the need to eradicate these negative relics, shows new progress Intangible Cultural Property No. "% in "#&%. 'e o!ce of has acquired a theatrical format and content through the Sandae Nori of Kaesong deems the identity of Nojang (old toward heightened social consciousness. In addition, positive the Bongsan Mask Dance-Drama Preservation Society is innovative adaptation of previous mask dances that had monk) to be Jijok the great monk and that of Tangnyeo characters like chwibari , podobujang (police bureau o!cial), currently housed within the Training Center for Important existed as a mere trivial talent. (gisaeng) to be Hwang Jini. In other words, the origin story malttugi and Halmi demonstrate the popular consciousness Intangible Cultural Properties in Seoul. Firstly, Bongsan Talchum and other mask dramas of of Manseokjung Nori (story of Monk Jijok, who is seduced that rejected the established order and demanded new val- Bongsan Talchum, along with Gangryeong Talchum, the Sandae Nori (mask dances from the central region of by Hwang Jini and eventually becomes an apostate) was ues9, which is in line with the Donghak Peasant Revolution constituted the acme of the mask-dance drama of the Haeseo Korea) style satirize the various absurdities and ills of the late precisely re2ected in the Sandae Nori of Kaesong, leading to and other historical movements that mark the transition region (Hwanghae Province) in the late nineteenth and early Joseon society. To this end, each mask drama was created by the appearance of Monk Jijok as Nojang and Hwang Jini as from a medieval to modern society. „ twentieth centuries. In particular, it became widely known separately combining existing content elements, such as the Tangnyeo8. a*er the performance held at the foot of Mt. Kyongam in Monk Manseok dance that satirizes an apostate monk, which Sariwon on the Buddhist All Souls’ Day (/*eenth day of the was performed as part of yuhui ( , a satirical play about seventh lunar month) on 0" August "#0&, was aired nationally nobles) and sanhui ( , puppet⨉䨢 show) at munhuiyeon ( by the Gyeongseong Broadcasting Station. ) and other feasts,㻗䨢 and the Old Man and Woman dance臝 Bongsan Talchum was usually performed on the Dano ㄻ㵯that presents a love triangle between a husband, his wife, and day (/*h day of the /*h lunar month), as well as on special his concubine, a tryst o*en encountered in everyday life. occasions celebrated by the local government o!ce, such as Consequently, Bongsan Talchum has become characterized the reception of envoys and the arrival of a newly appointed by an omnibus style where a number of separate elements are district magistrate. 'e old town of Bongsan, located on the interwoven to form a mask drama. Northeast Straight Road, was the seat of the Bongsan-gun First of all, the nobleman playing act established its theat- government o!ce and the temporary place of residence for rical style and content based on the existing yuhui. Yuhui is a Chinese envoys. play that was always performed at munhuiyeon, the celebra- Performers consisted of petty o!cials of the local gov- tory banquet for those who had passed the state civil service ernment o!ce, in addition to merchants and villagers. 'e exam, and was composed of satires on seonbi (Confucian participation of petty o!cials facilitated the production and scholars) and ridicule of Confucianists and Confucian

NOTE ". Jeon, Kyung-wook, History of Traditional Performances in Korea , Seoul: Hakgojae Publishing, 5151, pp. 5%3-5%#. 5. Kim, Il-chul, A Study on the Folk Mask-dance !eatre in Joseon , Pyongyang: Academy of Sciences Publisher, "#$4, p. "44. 0. Cho, Dong-il, !e History and Principles of Talchum , Seoul: Hongseongsa, "#4", pp. "4$-"#4. Figure 2. Chaebung and sanhui scene (lion, tiger and Monk Manseok dances) depicted in the color painting Nakseongyeondo.

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