탈춤

(Talchum / Mask Dance)

4/12/2022

mini Korean lesson:

탈 (tal) = mask
춤 (chum or choom) = dance

Origins

The act of dancing with a mask on in the Korean Peninsula dates back to the Bronze Age (3300 BC - 1200 BC), as revealed by various wall paintings. It had many different purposes, sometimes as rituals, sometimes as a performance at a palace banquet (notably, when welcoming Chinese diplomats & when the king returns to the palace (궁중탈춤 처용무 (cheoyongmu), 학무(hakmu))), and sometimes as pure fun. The Talchum/Mask Dance as we know it now has 3 different roots but the roots lose their ties to rituals and essentially converge under the name Talchum.

The 3 Roots

Rural farmers: farmers performed Talchum as a ritual at village festivals in order to appease the “village’s god(s)” and wish for good health and peace in the village. ex) 안동 하회 별신굿 탈놀이 (Andong Hahwae Byeolsingut Talnori) https://youtu.be/ySVJnmu7xaA?t=256
Palace performers: performers hired by the palace who danced Talchum at official festivals, banquets, and celebrations at the palace were eventually let go when they were no longer needed by the palace. In order to make a living, the performers formed Talchum groups and traveled village to village to perform and make money. (본산대놀이)
City performing groups: cities invited the above traveling Talchum groups to come perform, but they often failed to arrive at their destination on time or broke promises. People in the city eventually got fed up and funded the creation of their own Talchum groups. (별산대놀이)

안동 하회 별신굿 탈놀이 (Andong Hahwae Byeolsingut Talnori) https://youtu.be/ySVJnmu7xaA?t=256

Comedy / Black Comedy

Most Talchums have fixed scripts, songs, and dances that have been passed down from generation to generation for a long, long time. And a lot of them focus on comedy, and especially black comedy. Some even have dirty jokes!

This focus on black comedy developed in the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1500s-1600s), because after several wars (임진왜란 (Imjin War / Japanese Invasions of Korea) & 병자호란 (Qing Invasion of Joseon)), the country was in a state of absolute destruction and in the reconstruction efforts, large trade hub cities were formed. Commoners became traders instead of farmers and became very rich. In concert, the privilege of the noble caste declined somewhat and commoners began to feel like the nobles were not so high and mighty after all. They began to make fun of nobles, ridicule them, criticize societal rules and structures (such as the nobility caste system and their misogynistic practices), and make sarcastic jokes about the performers’ and the audience’s own poverty.

The Masks

Talchum masks are known for their vibrant colors and the wide range of emotions they depict. They were mostly made with paper and wood, but some were made with hollowed-out gourds as well. Paper and gourds were used in cases when they wanted to save wood for other more important uses (firewood, construction, etc.).