WRESTLING WITH SSIREUM: KOREAN FOLK GAME VS. GLOBALIZATION A Dissertation by CHRISTOPHER A. SPARKS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2011 Major Subject: Anthropology Wrestling with Ssireum: Korean Folk Game vs. Globalization Copyright 2011 Christopher A. Sparks WRESTLING WITH SSIREUM: KOREAN FOLK GAME VS. GLOBALIZATION A Dissertation by CHRISTOPHER A. SPARKS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Thomas A. Green Committee Members, Stephen Balfour D. Bruce Dickson Cynthia Werner Head of Department, Donny Hamilton August 2011 Major Subject: Anthropology iii ABSTRACT Wrestling with Ssireum: Korean Folk Game vs. Globalization. (August 2011) Christopher A. Sparks, B.A., University of Central Florida Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Thomas A. Green Ssireum is a Korean form of grappling. Wrestlers grip sashes that are looped around their opponent’s waist and thigh while competing inside a sand circle with the goal of making any part of their opponent’s body above the knee touch the ground. In Korea ssireum is understood to be a national sport developed during the country’s modernization in the early 20th century that has origins as a thousands-of-years-old folk game. By the start of 21st century ssireum’s popularity had waned and a once prosperous professional league collapsed. The effects of globalization are frequently cited as the cause. However, the sport continues to be played at various levels throughout the public education system in addition to semi-pro and amateur leagues. This dissertation asks the question, “What does it mean collectively to play ssireum?” The answer comes from fifteen months of participant observation and interviews in Korea’s collegiate ssireum league. The goal is to establish the first major body of academic information about ssireum and to place it within the larger cultural context of contemporary Korean society. Fieldwork data is interpreted using theories drawn from Roger Abrahams, Fredrik Barth, Pierre Bourdieu, and Eric Hobsbawm. Ssireum’s ritualized use of symbols appropriated from the past is a means of maintaining iv the boundaries of an ethnic identity that allows everyone involved to assume they are “playing the same game”. Ssireum is a vehicle for negotiating, performing, and evaluating a unique identity. For those involved, playing ssireum makes Koreanness. Ssireum dramatizes a traditional identity which has incorporated distinctly modern ideologies about the world. The relationships of people within ssireum are inextricably linked to existing protocols for social interactions in Korea; recruitment of talent, training regimens, competition events, future careers, and industry solvency could not be maintained otherwise. Globalization, frequently invoked in the rhetoric about ssireum, fills contradictory roles of boogeyman and savior, and misdirects attention away from counterproductive internal processes damaging the industry. v DEDICATION For Papa, Billy, and Andres vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank my committee chair, Dr. Green, and my committee members, Dr. Balfour, Dr. Dickson, and Dr. Werner, for their guidance and support. It would not have been possible to write this dissertation without their expert advice and insight. I could not have asked for better mentors. Though I am in their debt, the final responsibility for the accuracy of this work remains mine alone. I also wish to extend my gratitude to the Glasscock Center for Humanities Research, the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation, the L.T. Jordan Institute for International Awareness, the National Science Foundation, and the Texas A&M Anthropology Department for funding this research. I would not have been able to conduct fieldwork without their funding. Thanks also to the Anthropology Department faculty and staff for supporting students without hesitation. This is especially true of Cynthia Hurt and Rebekah Luza, two people who should be acknowledged for the vital and often thankless work they perform without fail. In Korea, I would like to thank MBC ESPN Korea, the Korea Ssireum Association, and the Korean University Ssireum Federation for their support in providing access to ssireum events. I would also like to thank Seoul National University, especially Kim Young-aie for her kindness and closeness. Special thanks to Dr. Seung- Han Park of the Korea Ssireum Research Institute for his enthusiasm, confidence, and vii support. And my eternal gratitude to Dr. Yong Huh and Iron Kim, for without their earnest friendship and disabuse I would have surely been doomed to labor in vain. While I would like to thank all the Korean universities, colleagues, and friends that so generously opened up their worlds to me, I cannot properly and openly do so without nullifying their confidentiality. Such is my regret. Please accept my humble thanks for sharing your stories with me. I could not have done it without you. Special thanks must go to my anthropological colleagues, Kiho Kim and In-Huck Choi. Their support and feedback have always been invaluable. But above all I appreciate their friendship. Lastly, I want to thank my friends and family, on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, for everything they have done to support me. My education is not so much an individual accomplishment as it is the fruits of the collective bonds of kinship. Above all else, I could not have come this far without the love and sacrifice of my parents, wife, and precious son. Long will I endeavor to be worthy of your care. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: GRAB THE BELT .............................................................. 1 Transliterations, Nomenclature, and Voice ................................................ 1 What is Ssireum? ........................................................................................ 5 Background ................................................................................................ 6 Problem Statement ................................................................................... 18 Thesis ....................................................................................................... 21 Significance .............................................................................................. 22 Unit of Analysis ....................................................................................... 26 Methods .................................................................................................... 28 Limitations ............................................................................................... 36 Biases ....................................................................................................... 41 The Game ................................................................................................. 45 II SOURCES OF TRADITION ............................................................................ 53 Tradition Means Three Things ................................................................. 53 Sources of Knowledge ............................................................................. 55 The Timeline ............................................................................................ 60 Lower Paleolithic ..................................................................................... 65 Gojoseon ................................................................................................... 66 Three Kingdoms ....................................................................................... 67 Goryeo ...................................................................................................... 76 Joseon Dynasty ......................................................................................... 78 ix CHAPTER ............................................................................................... Page III SOURCES OF INVENTION ............................................................................ 86 Modernization or Not? ............................................................................. 86 Japanese Occupation ................................................................................ 88 Civil War .................................................................................................. 98 Republic of Korea .................................................................................... 99 IMF Crisis and the New Millennium ..................................................... 114 Collegiate League ..................................................................................