Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism / Korean Culture and Information Service

 
The moves carry a sentiment unique to Koreans alone.

What is this innate, uniquely Korean sentiment embedded in their lives, and where does it come from?

Dance is the most direct language expressed with our bodies. It precedes verbal language. All dances of the world reflect the sentiment and world view unique to that culture.

The Buddhist dance called "Seungmoo” is touted as one of the best of all traditional Korean dances.

Seungmoo expresses the human desire to escape from worldly suffering.

The dancers lower their eyes. The knee is more bent than straightened. Lowered eyes and bent knees are an expression of self discipline to overcome endless suffering.

The movement of the Buddhist monk's robe is a signature trait of the Seungmoo dance. Edges of the robe fluttering in the air signify hope rising over pain.

The drum scene shifts the mood and the dance reaches a climax.

The climax represents a sublime spirit that has weathered through suffering and pain.

Another dance that speaks for the Korean sentiment is the Salpuri or exorcism dance. Salpuri means to vent one's deep seated anger and sorrow.

The dance is performed with a soft, long silk cloth held in the dancer's hand. The cloth is no mere instrument but it becomes part of the exorcising body.

After a long dance, the cloth is at one point dropped to the ground. The movement of dropping the cloth symbolizes deep sorrow.

Then the cloth is picked up again.

The rhythm quickens and the dance moves also become lighter.

Excitement builds. The motion of picking up the cloth expresses joy.

The Salpuri dance originates from shamanism.

In the old days, Koreans performed exorcism rituals called "gut" to beat bad luck each year.

Salpuri was the dance shamans improvised during these events.

The shamans danced using their divine bodies and through the dance, the spectators and the shaman experienced a release of emotions formed deep in their hearts.

The notion of "han" refers to a uniquely Korean sadness. Han is created when sorrow and suppressed resentment piles up in one's heart.

The Korean history was one of patience due to a male dominated society and status-centered mentality. The Korean people also lived through instability resulting from foreign invasions. The "han" sentiment wholly reflects the lives of Koreans lived as the socially vulnerable.

But the sorrow expressed in traditional Korean dance does not remain as grief but is uplifted into joy and jubilation.

Sorrow is inevitable in life. It’s also the way to untie emotional knots.

The methods of releasing sorrow are well documented in Korean folk arts such as the mask dance or the musical storytelling genre of "pansori."

What's interesting is that the release is executed through humor and satire.

Namsadang was Korea's very first public entertainment group of sorts. In the latter Joseon dynasty era, this male troupe performed dance and singing around villages.

They sang and danced about the suppressed lower class people and the wearisome lives of women in a cheerful, jolly manner.

In most world cultures, joy and sadness are opposing emotions, but that’s not so for Koreans.

For Koreans, joy comes from releasing and resolving their deep sorrows.

An exciting mask dance is under way. The performers wearing masks merrily shake and swing their bodies. The mask dance, another traditional Korean art form, was also a reflection of the hearts of the people.

The commoners wore masks hiding their faces, disguised as a nobleman and his servant or a wife and concubine, and put on a satirical show depicting their oppressive everyday life.

Toward the end of a mask dance, audience members join the stage and dance together.

The performers and audience become one and united.

A key characteristic of traditional Korean performances was this aspect of everyone coming together, dancing and having a blast at an open public space called "madang."

Korean folk arts are recreated into various genres of stage art in the modern era. Samulnori is a modification of the traditional Korean music known as "pungmul."

Four instruments are played.

A kind of gong ‘kkweanggwari’ symbolizes thunder.

The Korean drum 'janggu' symbolizes rain.

The drum symbolizes the cloud.

And another kind of gong ‘jing’ symbolize wind.

The Korean sentiment of "heung" or joy is expressed most satisfactorily through Samulnori.

Nanta, the Korean non-verbal comedy show, has now become a global phenomenon. Nanta incorporates the melody and rhythm of Samulnori. But instead of traditional instruments, the performers use kitchen utensils as instruments to produce fun, exciting music.

What's most important in a performance is communication with the audience. Audience members are no mere spectators but they also participate and create the show together.

Nanta is a nonverbal performance, meaning the show only consists of movements, sound and music and there are no words. But even without speech, the sound of banging and pounding and body language are enough to bedazzle the audience.

The Korean sentiment of joy is also connected to the dance moves of the latest K-pop.

Korean pop music or K-pop is a force to be reckoned with in the global music scene these days. It's especially known for its choreographed dancing.

A key component to a K-pop performance is none other than the audience.

Viewers actively respond to the singing and dancing of K-pop idol groups.

They shout chants, wave cheering apparatuses, sing along to the songs, and turn the concert hall into a huge playground.

The joyous sentiment of "heung" grows even stronger when collective audience action is added and when people mingle and communicate with one another.

Heung is a uniquely Korean way of communication.

Heung was most evident in Korean singer Psy's breakout worldwide hit "Gangnam Style."

This song was the epitome of Korean style joy.

People around the world indulged in the Korean sentiment of "heung" while mimicking Psy's horse-riding dance.

Psy is just one person but he was anything but alone in Gangnam Style as he drew in numerous audience members into the song, expanding the "heung" element by several hundred, or even thousand fold.

The relational aspect with the audience showcased in traditional Korean performances continues to this day in modern Korean arts and entertainment.

Koreans are exceptional in their tears and laughter. Koreans immersed in joy to overcome their sorrow-stricken lives.

The sentiments of "heung” and "han" are clearly expressed in the body movements of Koreans.