Buchaechum (부채춤) is a traditional fan dance created by Kim Baek-bong (김백봉). It was first presented in public in 1954 and is usually performed by groups of Korean female dancers. The word “Buchae” means Fan, and “Chum” means dance. The dance was developed and recognized during the Joseon Dynasty, deriving from ancient rituals and was performed at worship ceremonies to the gods of Korean shamanism. Korean shamanism is an ancient belief of Korean society that combines different beliefs and is influenced by religions such as Buddhism and Taoism.
During Buchaechum, the dancers would form a circle and use the fan to perform a bumpy movement, forming a butterfly or bird-like motion. The choreography of Buchaechum is very precise, as the performers work as a group. The most common form resembles a wave. Although the tempo might be slow, the dancers must move closely to each other to create the perfect image. The dance uses traditional Korean music. So the musical instruments would include string instruments such as gayageum and geomungo, wind instruments such as daegeum, piri and hojok, and percussion instruments such as jing, buk and janggu.
Buchaechum dancers wear identical traditional hanbok (한복) with bright color designs, which usually matches the color of their fans. The main costume is the dangui (당의), which includes a coat and a skirt with long flowing sleeves, and a phoenix embroidered on the front and back. Dancers would hold large fans with bright images of flower blossoms. The dancers would also wear jokduri (족두리), which resembles a tiara made with silk and paper.
The first time I saw this dance was from learning about Korean folk dance. Korean have inherited a great number of folk dances, including salpurichum (spiritual purification dance), gutchum (shamanic ritual dance), taepyeongmu (dance of peace), hallyangchum (idler’s dance), buchaechum (fan dance), geommu (sword dance) and seungmu (monk’s dance). Those dances are not only performed at religious ceremonies but also often featured in annual events and festivals. Buchaechum so far has become one of Korea’s most popular traditional dances. It is taught in dance studios and can regularly be seen at festivals and on TV. Some K-pop performers also incorporate elements from Buchaechum to their dance.
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Hi Hayley!
I had no idea that 부채춤 was derived from ancient rituals and was performed at worship ceremonies to the gods of Korean shamanism. I personally tried to learn 부채춤 when I was in middle school and it actually required a lot of control to gracefully display the fans while moving swiftly in a heavy 한복. Thank you for teaching me the history of 부채춤!