University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Theatre & Dance ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2-9-2011 A New Vision of Korean Dance Through a Comparative Study of Korean Dance and Modern Dance History Sun-Ah Kim Lee Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/thea_etds Recommended Citation Lee, Sun-Ah Kim. "A New Vision of Korean Dance Through a Comparative Study of Korean Dance and Modern Dance History." (2011). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/thea_etds/16 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theatre & Dance ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A New Vision of Korean Dance Through a Comparative Study of Korean Dance and Modern Dance History by Sun-Ah Kim Lee B.A., Dance, Kyung Hee University, 1993 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts Dance The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December, 2010 c 2010, Sun-Ah Kim Lee iii Dedication To my lovely Alicia, Sophia, Sang-Joon, Do Joon, Bok Hee, and Sun-Young \Dance is the hideen language of the soul" {Martha Graham iv Acknowledgments I heartily acknowledge Dr. Jennifer Predock-Linnell, my advisor and dissertation chair, for continuing to encourage me through the years of classroom teachings and the long number of months of writing and rewriting these chapters. Her guidance and professional style will remain with me as I continue my career. I also thank my committee member, Mary Anne Santos Newhall for her valuable rec- ommendations pertaining to this study and always giving cherish courageous guides for my dissertation. Vladimir Conde Reche gave me special guiding, encouragements and directions for my essay. I would also thank him for his extraordinary beautiful dancing for my M.F.A. concert. I thank Dr. Edward Bedrick for his serving as a committee member. I appreciate to Donna Jewell and Eva Encinias-Sandoval for their artistic advice for my M.F.A concert. I would like to thank my friends, Michal Sexton, Megan Heather O'brien, and my dancers, Dara Minkin, Giovianna Burrell, Jocelyn Montoya, Leslie Paige Plummer, Shannon Madrano, and Ana Merceds Arechiga Gonzalez for their enormous time commitment. It was my great luck for all of us to breathe together during my M.F.A. concert. My mother, Bok Hee Kim, has been praying for me every day and all day long since I started my graduate program. I thank my father, Do Joon Kim, for his special courageous advice and praying. I also thank to my parents-in-law, Ja Sung Lee and Yong Ja Kim. They have always given me essential advice and courage. I could not fail this work because of the existence of Alicia and Sophia. To my sister, Sun- Young Kim, she gave me immeasurable support and artistic intelligent advices over the years. She has been more than a teacher. Finally to my husband, Sang-Joon Lee, God sent him to me. His love is the greatest gift of God. I could focus on my dissertation thanks to his tremendous amount of help for my family. v A New Vision of Korean Dance Through a Comparative Study of Korean Dance and Modern Dance History by Sun-Ah Kim Lee ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts Dance The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December, 2010 A New Vision of Korean Dance Through a Comparative Study of Korean Dance and Modern Dance History by Sun-Ah Kim Lee B.A., Dance, Kyung Hee University, 1993 M.F.A., Dance, University of New Mexico, 2010 Abstract In this dissertation, I conduct a comparative study of Korean and Modern dance history while examining new ways to incorporate the traditional forms of Korean dance with a contemporary dance aesthetic. It is important to know the old in order to create the new contemporary Korean dance. Through this examination, I want to find a new voice for contemporary Korean choreographers. Korean's many kinds of dance's roots and backgrounds are from the religions in agriculture life. Korean dancing was the rule of prehistoric ancestors offered sacrifices to gods. Through Ko-Chosun, Three tribes, Three Kingdom, Koguroy, Chosun dynasty, Korea dance has breathed for 5000 years in Korea. vii Korea has a number of different traditional dances. Korean dance is divided into folk dance and shaman dance. Korea has tried to preserve the Korean traditional dance. Korean dance was started with religious beliefs. Korean dance was performed for heaven by worship for the country. There existed the reverence for gods and natures in the ancient society. Korean dance values the natures of the universe and their movements are also from them. Korean dance is a distinctive way of human movement. Korean dance developed their awareness of rhythm, joyful experience involving emotion and a body. Korean dance was a tradition, socialization and ethnic expression of communication. In the world, almost every country has its unique cultural dance. The techniques and themes of Korean dances were developed for religious dances: the Confucianism, the Shamanism and Buddhism. Korean dance was usually performed in the banquets being held at the royal court or at a ceremony for a peaceful country and village. The Korean dance was performed on the street or at a house. Dancers and people danced together. They can be close to each other. They shared their feeling though dancing together. They could join and enjoy the ceremonies. They could have everlasting exhilaration with the beauty of dance. Korean folk dances were performed in numerous places. Korean folk dance existed with people. There are a lot more emotional and personal improvisations in Korean folk dance. Korean folk dances were also choreographed for people's lives, villages, royal persons, prosperity for country and worship. Mask dance dramas originated from Buddhism and exorcism. They were performed by the common people. They always expressed the common people's sarcasm against an aristocratic class. Korean dance could encounter and breathe with people. Korean dance didn't have boundaries between performers and audiences. In these days, traditional Korean dance became a form of performance in the theatre. We had to watch dance in the darkness. Dance became a way of expressing human thought. viii After the liberation from Japan's occupation, the elements of Korean folk dance in theatre were affected by western theatre forms. Korean dance was developed as a theatre art. The government of South Korea has officially preserved the Korean culture. It is called, \Important Intangible Cultural Properties" (Jungyo Muhyeong Munhwajae in Korean) since 1964. There are 119 Important Intangible Cultural Properties: architectures, music, cotton cloth weavings, games, province songs, mili- tary march with play the music instruments, paintings, craft, shaman exorcism-Gut, Taekkyeon martial art, furniture, rites, quiltings, sculptures, ceramics, and dances. Dance includes Nong-Ak (farm dance), Saluri (shaman dance), Taepyung Mu (dances of Peace), Ganggang sullare, Kum-Mu (Jin-ju sword dance), Jung-jae (Confusian dance) and all kinds of mask dances. They have all been preserved. Korean dance uses more shoulder, arm, hands and heels with very little leg movements. Accord- ingly, they have significantly affected the historical development of Korean dance. Their efforts for the preservation of Korean dance have established their cultural inheritance. ix Contents List of Figures xiii List of Tables xv 1 Introduction 1 2 Korean Dance 3 2.1 Korea . .3 2.2 Korean Dance . .4 3 Korean Dance History 5 3.1 Ko-Chosun (2233 BC-60 BC) . .5 3.2 Dance during the various tribes period (82 BC-60 BC) . .7 3.3 Three Kingdom Period (37BC- AD 935): Goguryeo, Bacjae, and Silla . .9 3.3.1 Overview . .9 3.3.2 Goguryeo (37 BC-AD 668) . 10 x Contents 3.3.3 Backje (18 BC-AD 660) . 11 3.3.4 Shilla (57 BC-AD 935) . 16 3.4 Dance During the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392 A.D) . 18 3.4.1 Kisaeng . 19 3.4.2 Korean mask dance, \Talchum" . 21 3.5 Chosun Yi Dynasty (1392-1910 A.D.) . 24 4 Modernized Korean Dance 30 4.1 The New dance through the Japanese Occupation (1910-1945) . 30 4.1.1 Han Sung Jun (1894-1942) . 32 4.1.2 Ishi Baku (1878-1927) . 35 4.1.3 Choi Seong Hee (1911-1975) . 35 4.1.4 Jo Tack Won (1907-1976) . 39 4.2 Today (1945-2000s) . 41 4.2.1 Kook, Soo-Ho (1948-) . 42 4.2.2 Bae, Junghye (1944- ) . 44 5 Modern dance history 46 5.1 Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) . 46 5.2 Denishawn (1915-1931) . 47 5.3 Martha Graham (1894-1991) . 49 xi Contents 5.4 Doris Humphrey (1895-1958) . 53 6 Comparative Study of Traditional & Contemporary Korean Dances 55 7 Summary & Conclusion 63 xii List of Figures 2.1 Taegeukgi . .4 3.1 Ko-Chosun . .6 3.2 Farmer's band, Nongak-Mu . .9 3.3 Shaman . 11 3.4 Mooyongchong . 12 3.5 Sangmohat . 13 3.6 Dancers are beating Jing and Kkwaenggwari . 14 3.7 Janggo . 14 3.8 Buk . 15 3.9 Chuyong-Mu . 17 3.10 Kum-Mu (sword dance) . 18 3.11 Koryo (Goryeo) . 19 3.12 Kisaeng . 20 3.13 Korean mask dance, Talchum . 22 xiii List of Figures 3.14 Chosun . 24 3.15 Akhak gwebeom . 25 3.16 Ilmu . 26 3.17 Seong-Mu . 28 4.1 Seong Mu by Han Young Sook .