• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.754-766
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• 2016

What is the relationship between the power of mask and the popularity of 'Umakdaejang(which means a band master in Korean)' who was one of the mask-singers in King of Masksinger? And which aspects of the contemporary Korean society were projected to this fever of Umakdaejang? This study has made efforts to answer these questions. To do this, it has examined the episodes that Umakdaejang appeared in the TV program King of Masksinger, has dealt with the origin and purpose of mask, and with the cultural meaning of the mask's concealing and revealing identity in order to understand the power of mask. Findings are as follows. Umakdaejang amplified the curiosity of his identity by displaying anonymous typicality with the mask. He also showed the resistant gestures against the forms and manners of the existing TV music programs through the way of somewhat tough, uncontrolled, and mischievous behaviors. By doing so, he exposed the desire of self-revelation. As a result, by means of its anonymity and resistance, the mask functioned as an effective apparatus being able to resist against the class polarization of the capitalist ideology. This can be viewed as the origin of the fever of Umakdaejang as well as the very power of mask itself.