History & Types

Sangmo’s exact origins are unknown, but there is historical evidence that in the Joseon Dynasty, soldiers put thread on the tops of their hats and spun them to confuse enemies in battle. As pungmul adopted the hat idea, it evolved into a performance art. Many varieties of sangmo were created within pungmul, such as 채상모 (chaesangmo), 부포상모 (buposangmo), 부들상모 (budeulsangmo), and 긴상모/열두발상모 (ginsangmo/yeol-du-bal sangmo). The sangswae (lead ggweng) would often wear a buposangmo to show that he was leading the performance. However, the types of sangmo used varied greatly by region.

The sangmo we have at Hansori is a chaesangmo!

Purpose of Sangmo:

In pungmul, drummers’ two hands are busy playing the drums. But the drummers still found a way to still express themselves, and the solution was sangmo! Hence, sangmo was used in pungmul to give emphasis to the dance moves and give the performers a way to express themselves and their interpretation of the music. Different sangmo movements were used to show how a specific beat was exciting, slow, fast, calm, intense, or many other emotions! Sangmo adds a beautiful, visual component to a pungmul performance.