• Journal of Korean Theatre Studies Association
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• no.40
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• pp.5-27
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• 2010

The Korean Mask-Dance Theatre has been developed closely related to Korean Shaman rituals. As many scholars noticed, the performers of the Mask-Dance Theatre were closely related to the Shaman family. In addition, there are mask-dance performances in actual shaman rituals. and are the representative performances among them. This essay intends to compare these two mask-dance performances in the shaman rituals to the similar performance of Old Grandpa and Grandma episode in the regional Mask-Dance Theatre. This study would bring us further in proving the close relation between the shaman ritual and the Mask-Dance Theatre. is one episode, Keori, in the shaman ritual of 'Baeyeonsin-kut' and 'Taedong-kut' in the mid-west seashore area. 'Taedong-kut' is the village shaman ritual for fertility and prosperity, while 'Baeyeonsin-kut' is a private shaman ritual for a large catch of the ship. is held in the later part of the whole shaman ritual since the later part tend to be more for entertainment than actual ritual. The story of is very similar that of in Pongsan Mask-Dance Theatre of the mid-west region. In addition, some of their dialogues are very similar. Only the later part is different. These similarities indicate that the Mask-Dance Theatre, which came into being in later period than the shaman ritual, has likely taken the story motif of the shaman ritual. is also a performance in the shaman ritual of east coasts. is more elaborate and recreational than of the west coasts. is also performed near the end of the ritual, and sometimes it is not performed at all. This indicates that has little ritual meaning left. When we compare it with the regional Mask-Dance Theatres such as Keosung Okwangdae, Tongyong Okwangdae, and Suyong Yaryu, the structure and the story lines are also very similar. It is a question why only the motif of the Grandpa and Grandma isfound both in the shaman ritual and the Mask-Dance Theatre. Many other motifs of other episodes in the Mask-Dance Theatre are not found in the shaman rituals. It seems that the Grandpa and Grandma motif is related to the ur-belief in fertility. In other words, this motif seems to be originated from the old belief in the fertility couple of Chonha Taechanggun and Jiha Yeochanggun. The shaman ritual for fertility first picked up this motif, and then the mask-dance theatre also adapted this motif for its recreational purpose. When we compare with , still has more aspects of fertility ritual, while lost its ritualistic meaning and its main purpose is to develop dramatic needs. and are invaluable existent performances to prove theatre's origin in ritual. The existence of mask-dance performances in the shaman rituals shows us the transit performance between theatre and ritual.

• Journal of Korean Theatre Studies Association
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• no.48
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• pp.261-288
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• 2012

This paper attempts to research on the new language in the directing of Ara Kim. She was cranky on working on the stage to experiment with her own style since the 1980s and so opened a new dawn in modern Korean theatre. She leaded the Korean experimental theatre. The background of this experiment is her idea on theatre. And here, we have to look the subject that she setted for the work in Chuksan: Ritual Past, Ritual Present. To her, the theatre has the function of ritual and fest. The theatre suggests universal tragedy given to human as natural life force and has its own agenda to drive people to healing. For it, Ara Kim explores archetypal forms and languages before the fragmentation of genres of art. Her theatre shows the results of experiments in which such languages are recreated with modernized sensibilities. We here, for example by outdoor performance in Chuksan Human Lear, try to interpret the aesthetic principles that body out her ritual theatre. And what we looked at though, is the base of the 'complex-genre-music-theatre', the methode to 'compose' the stage elements and put it all together. The directing of Ara Kim has, in terms of the composition of the stage elements, much of the indisputable artistic value. Her theatre is, so to speak, theatre of image, and it is theatre of imagination that completed by the audience's imagination. Human Lear which has its own characteristic in image fragments, convert the original Lear into a simple tale. It serves as background of the modern ritual that shows the most basic human instincts. We meet in Human Lear a ritual tale with some list of image for the human instincts. The arrangement of image, the montage of scene shows the performance as a kind of artistic space. In Human Lear the space is the natural one. It centers around the arena stage. The objects installed in the space changes it into the laboratory for 'seeing' the happening. The spectators see the performance and at the same time see themselves in the nature laboratory. They see, and equally, they are visible objects. They see the performance and us in the space in which the performance takes place. That is what Ara Kim with her modern ritual really aims. That aim is to this days still in effect. It is a major driver of her experiments to extend the boundary of the theatre. The ritualistic site-specific performance in Akor Wat, Cambodia, A Song of Mandala is the latest great product from her experiments. On the other hand, she continues on her way to experiment with pure stage elements. The 'Station' series(Station of Water, The Station of Sand, The Station of Wind) she recently showed are the non-verbal performance with all the stage elements: movement, sound, body, light, colour, objects and so on.

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.18
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• pp.5-46
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• 2009

The origin of Korean mime is traceable to sacred actions of prehistoric age. There are materials about mime of this age in the archeological materials of this age, oral literature/myth, and written literature about this age. There were traces of the most original form of mime in primitive ritual of tribal nation age. The mimes of Samkooksidae/Tree Nation Age of Korea were presented to forms of Kamoobekhee(歌舞百戱)/Sanakbekhee(散樂百戱). We can discover traces of mime of this age in Hosunmoo(胡旋舞), Gwangsumoo(廣袖舞), Kweraehee(傀儡戱), Keeak(伎樂), Kummoo(劍舞) Muaemoo(無㝵舞), and so forth. Especially, Keeak in Beckjae was mask mime of Buddhistic contents. We can recognize that secular theatres were more diversified and strengthened than sacred thaetres in Nambukgooksidae/South-north Nation Age. According to these changes, there were many changes in the mime of this age. We can concretely find traditions of mime of this age in Cheryongkamoo(處容歌舞), Hwangchanmoo(黃倡舞), Taemyun(大面), Wuljen(月顚), Sodok(束毒)', Sanyae (狻猊), and so forth. Mimes of Koreasidae/Korea Age take diverse forms of puppet play, mask play, dance play. Established traditional mimes as Cheryongkamoo(處容歌舞) were widely disseminated in society. And dance plays of mime form as Hunsundo(獻仙桃), Pokurak(抛毬樂), Yunhwadae(蓮花臺)' were imported from Song Nation of China. Mime of Chosundidae/Chosun Age were developed with changes of theatre that were divided into Kyusickjeehee[規式之戲] as Kwangdae(廣大), Ser-in(西人), Joojil(注叱), Rongryung(弄鈴), Kendoo(斤頭) and Sohakjihee[笑謔之戱] as Soochuk(水尺) Sengkwangdae(僧廣大). Styles of theatre in this age were specialized into mudangkuk, Pungmoolkut, Inhyunguk/Puppet play, Talnoree/Mask paly, Pansori, Kungjoong Kamuakguk. According to this changes, mime of this age were specialized into diverse aspects. Korean mime were specialized into Kutnorum-formed mime, Inhyungnorum-formed mime, Jabsaeknorum-formed mime, Talnorum-formed mime, Kungjoongmuyong-formed mime, Pansori-formed mime, and so forth.