Traditional Dance - II

Folk dances can be divided into religious dances led by monks and secular dances performed by the people. Religious dances include the shaman's ritual dance. The Buddhist dance by monks is performed at temples in major memorial services. Secular dances of the common people include both solo and group dances. In practice the group dances and the entertaining dances are so alike and so closely related that it is difficult to make a strict distinction between them.

Ilmu is performed in lines to the accompaniment of Confucian ritual music (aak). It is categorized according to the number of lines: eight, six, four, or two. The ilmu introduced from Song China in the 11th year (1116) of King Yejong's reign of the Goryeo Dynasty was a six-line dance performed by 36 dancers, which later evolved into diverse line dances.

In the Goryeo period, baekhui gamu court entertainments hundreds of kinds of including dance and acrobatic performances, were performed mainly at national ceremonies in the court. They included the Buddhist Festival of Eight Vows, or Palgwanhoe, the Lantern Festival, or Yeondeunghoe, and the New Year's Eve Festival, or Narye. These dances became further diversified in the Joseon period. The Goryeo-inherited dances in Joseon-native court productions, China-derived dances, line dances, and court acrobatic entertainments were all enriched to a higher level. For the accompaniment of native court dances, Botaepyeong and Jeongdaeeop court music productions were newly composed. They were chosen for the royal ancestral service at the Jongmyo Shrine in the 10th year (1464) of King Sejo's reign, and serve in this role to this day.

Types of baekhui gamu included sandae japgeuk, or stage variety shows by clowns, and goak japhui, or drumming variety shows. Performed at welcoming banquets for foreign emissaries, they included tumbling (geundu), boys dancing on men's shoulders (mudong), climbing a bamboo pole (jukgwangdae), tight-rope walking (jultagi), lion dances (sajamu), crane dances (hangmu), and puppet plays (kkokdugaksi noreum). Many other traditional dances have also come down to us. Various dances connected with shamanism survive throughout the country, as do folk dances infused with folk games, such as ganggang sullae, or female roundelay, and notdari balkki, or walking across human bridge.

In the 1930s and 1940s this transmitted tradition of dance influenced the original choreography of the internationally renowned Korean dancer Choe Seung-hui, and even today it is reflected in contemporary productions.