Growing up, I have always been watching Korean shows and dramas. One of the things I have wondered about are the Korean Masks worn in the dances. In Korean, “Tal” is the word for “mask.” As lunar new year just passed, I thought this would be fitting as it appears that some 500 years ago on the day after New Year in a Joseon Dynasty village, a dance that includes these masks came about. Examples of the masks are pictured below. I think they look so funky , lively, but also ridiculous as they are. They can be made from so many different types of materials such as including leather, silk, porcelain, glass, and even solid wood.
(Photo: https://www.thoughtco.com/traditional-korean-masks-195133)
One purpose of these masks was to give freedom to performers to anonymously share their criticism of powerful local people (members of the aristocracy or the Buddhist monastic hierarchy). Some of the "talchum"(plays performed through dance) also mock stereotyped versions of annoying personalities within the lower classes: the drunkard, the gossip, the flirt, or the constantly complaining grandmother. Interestingly enough, Talchum was performed typically by common folk in villages and not by trained dancers. Historians theorized that since these masks made contact with malevolent spirits, they were considered highly unlucky to train them after the rite were done. Therefore, they were burned immediately after use. This may seem like a waste of the materials, but there was also a vital political function behind the act. Talchum was completely unscripted and improvised. Therefore, it’s existence as an oral tradition and not a written one actually helped talchum enjoy its longevity.
This purpose of these masks in dances can be seen in the following YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aewRiJu7YsI. I think this is quite hysterical and even watching the dances brings joy. In the dance, the performers often were colorful silk “hanbok.” In these Korean clothes, the dramatic flowing white sleeves help to make the actor’s movements more expressive since they wear a fixed-jaw mask. The melodies of the music are region-specific and typically hearken back to Korea’s history.
I had only seen these masks used in the Korean shows for ritual dances and theatrical plays. However, other uses were by soldiers, and even their horses. For funerary masks, jade and bronze masks were used. Shamans also used masks in cleansing rituals to drive away evil spirits from the ill. If masks are in the likeness of historical people, they were used as a way of honoring them. Now, Tal masks are most often seen on display as good-luck charms or tourist souvenirs. Although they aren’t anything more than historical artifacts, behind the masks remains the traces of class struggles that stretches back centuries. In both Korean and Western Europe, masked dances keep a certain appeal. This reminds me of Spain with its Flamenco dances. When my friends and I went to a Flamenco show in Barcelona during my time abroad, it was essentially filled with tourists. The world class artists that perform at these shows need tourism to survive because they don’t fill up with locals alone. Regardless of the unpopularity from locals and not having much to do with the cultural reality of modern Spain now, flamenco items dominated and sold well in all of the tourist markets. This appears to be true for Korea as well with the masks that are shrunk to fit them onto key rings or fridge magnets. One day when I visit Korea, I think it would still be so cool to see the Korean dances in which they wear Tal in person.
https://www.thoughtco.com/traditional-korean-masks-195133
http://www.historyofmasks.net/mask-history/history-of-korean-masks/
http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Column/view?articleId=131165
Another fun video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1I_Mt3xGyM
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