Why I Feel Insane Today

Songpa Sandae Noli had their annual full length performance yesterday. That ate up most of my day, taking photos. Am I happy I was taking photos? No. I wanted to be performing, but was asked to take photos, even though none of the photos I've taken in 10 years as a member of the group ever get used officially in programs or anything like that.

Anyway, they just called me and asked to send the photos tonight.

Because that's what I wanted to do after spending the whole day writing a book chapter. The first draft of the chapter is finally done, and this is really awesome work, I'm excited I'll be able to share it (eventually considering the speed of academic publishing). It's on women's participation in Korean mask dance dramas and will be in an anthology on women's performance in Asian traditions. I've just emailed it off to my excellent friend Jena who will help me edit it to meet the deadline.

Now maybe I can have a minute to work on the conference paper that's to be presented the end of this month in Denmark (yay, my first time to Denmark!!!). That will be the conference paper on K-pop cover dance.

And of course, although my students are doing presentations in tomorrow's class and I already have a PPT prepared to fill in the extra time after they finish and before class is over, I do need to prepare for Tuesday and Wednesday's classes.

In other words, I do not have time to review the 500 some photos [edit, on transferring them off the camera I discovered it was 633 photos] I took yesterday and choose the 30 or so best to edit and send to them.

Yes, I tried to say no. Anyway, I did 21 photos (parade, ceremony, first four scenes) and stopped. It's 10 pm. I have other work to do.

Field Notes: April 18th at Songpa Sandae Noli Practice

These days I rarely write up real field notes. That's stupid of course. Yes, I'm not writing my dissertation, or revising it at the moment (I have an overdue book chapter for an edited volume to write instead). Of course later I will forget details. So yesterday I actually took some decent field notes and I'm going to actually type them up! Wonders never cease! (Note, that I should be writing the book chapter).

The full length performance for this year is on the 9th of May, so there are only a few days left before the performance to practice. This means that the attendance is higher, and everyone takes things more seriously.

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Today in the morning (11?) 함승헌 took his 이수자 test. I recorded an interview with him about it. He said it was more frightening than when he interviewed for anything else ever in his life, he had to talk about how his life aligned with practice of SSN (as a non-full-time performer), and answer a few questions to gauge his knowledge of the art, demonstrate the basic dance motions, and perform (with just 장구 and 피리 and no one across from him) the part of 취발이. He passed. More details are on the MP3 file.

Because Ham Jr. had done his test, a certain number of people had been around for a few hours already by the time I arrived at 1:45 (practice started at 3). Principally 이한복, 강차욱 (those two played the music for the test), 김영숙, 이병옥 and 함완식 who must have been very proud that his son advanced to 이수자 but I couldn't see any hint of that in his face or deportment. Other people also arrived before me, and shortly afterwards. The 심사위원 who had come for the exam had introduced various conversations while talking with 이병옥 and 함완식 and had infected everyone with an attitude of seriousness about how to best prepare for the full length performance. One of the things they said was that the 서울놀이마당's madang is too large, and if we try to take up the whole thing it loses feeling and looks bad-- they advised that the performance happen in the center with people sitting around outside, as has been done before some years. 김영숙  is going to look into the legless chairs with backs and see if we can get some of them for the viewers.

Before practice started I mostly talked with 김영숙 about a variety of things-- I started off by talking to her about the subject of the book chapter-- women in mask dance dramas. The interview was very unscripted and rambling, I basically stayed next to her and the conversation wove in and out of the topic, commenting on people around us, and various criticism that the office manager (a woman of opinions, no joke) had about other people and recent events. I managed to pull out my voice recorder and turn it on, tucked under my arm. The moment she sees the recorder she gets too reticent, and almost won't talk about anything at all -- even without seeing a recorder she often says things to undermine the value in her words (ex. "I'm not a talented dancer"). There was a ton of background environmental noise, including even the noise of at times 3 or 4 instruments in the small space-- and the recorder was under my arm, not held close to her mouth. And, as I said, the conversation ranged widely. The critical things of course I would never use, but the comments about women doing mask dance drama I need, so I'll just send her an email in a few days with the English content referring to the conversation, and a translation, and ask if she wants me to say "an experienced woman who has been a mask dancer more than thirty years" or if it is okay to use her name. Since what she said was already very curated (on that subject) and she knows I'm writing this chapter and have already talked to a lot of other performers about it, she'll probably agree for me to use her name. If I was confident of my memory, I wouldn't have sneakily recorded at all, but I excuse the sneakiness because I'll show her exactly how I want to use her words and get her permission to use her name before I ever do it. I much prefer what I can do with people like 이병옥, just stick the recorder in his hand, and just easily record in a quiet location.  At one point Yeongsuk and I went to the office, but by then she'd basically finished saying anything about her ideas and was asking me questions about my work situation and when I'll know if I am signing a new contract.

After stretching and basic motions (perhaps 30 minutes, combined), 이병옥 and to a lesser extent 함완식 pointed out some issues. One was confusion over 3 different dance motions with similar names and motions (the difference being the 장단 the motion is performed to, and whether you walk in a circle, or do the motion in place). When SSN does basic motions, unlike other mask dance dramas, such as Bongsan Talchum or Goseong Ogwangdae where everyone does the same sequence of events, the sequence and number of each motion before doing the next motions depends on who is leading. 김명하 was leading, in the front left corner facing the mirror and next to the musicians (이한복 (on piri or daegeum), 강차욱 (on janggu or piri), 윤지희 (haegeum) and another woman who is a friend of Jihee's, I think her name is 김희경, also playing haegeum plus 함완식 sometimes playing the janggu), I was in the back right corner, and over the instruments and space, I could only occasionally hear the call of the next motion, and just had to be quick on my toes so that I wouldn't make a mistake. Each motion is repeated on both sides for two, four, or even a dozen times before moving on. Since most members of the group, including 김명하 are older and their physical conditioning is not very good (they're older than me, and don't do hapkido 5 days a week), by the time they finished most people were drenched in sweat, but I felt like we had really barely practiced some of the motions. After discussion about the three similar motions and trying to clarify the names so that everyone wouldn't get confused, the discussion moved onto why SSN is called a --------- dance. I will have to ask someone, because I thought I'd noted the name correctly, but googling the name doesn't return a result. The conversation then went on to discuss if (or not) SSN has distinctively bold use of the wrist in dance motions. The senior members all denied this, although Ham Sr. brought up the fact that one of the original members at the time of certification had had particularly active wrists.

After this interlude practice of scenes commenced. The first scene was 곤장놀이, after the scene ended 이병옥 emphasized that everyone had to use very precise pronunciation in the performance. The eight monks were each told to practice at home to make their performance more "멋있어요" (in this case we can gloss this as meaning impressive). Next they practiced 침놀이 and after the scene ended 함, 이 and other senior members, such as 이수환 criticized the crucial end of the scene, correctly the delivery and actions of the players "죽든지 살든지, 내가 몰라." After this everyone last focus for a good 10 minutes, then came back together to practice the 7th scene (the first one with 노장). I was extremely happy to see them making all the 먹중 coordinate their motions, because the last two times I've seen this scene someone has been off. After the scene was rehearsed there was a discussion of line delivery "as if you have no mic" because this will match the traditional tone better (and, dare I say, the mics DO fail sometimes).

Crappy cell phone photos of rehearsal

Next the 먹중 (most of them) got a rest and they practiced the 샌님/말뚝이 scene. 다미 will perform as the youngest of the 3 양반, which disappointed me. I would really have liked to perform that role. After they practice there is a long discussion. As with most discussions the voice or authority starts with "I remember when [old teacher so and so] used to do this..." "It used to go like this" -- to actually find fault with others without bringing up the past is much less common and only happens if you're super confident about your opinion (like 이병옥). The discussion goes over where the members of the scene should be, and in what orientation to the audience, Ham Sr. accused 탄종원 of over-action, and 다미 is given feedback both pulled aside (by 장규식 who usually does this role) and by the group. There is a group repeat-after-이병옥 of some of the words (no longer used) so that pronunciation and delivery is correct. A lot of this focuses on 사처. If you drag it out it's a place for the dead, not a pigsty.

Then 김명하 runs through part of the scene as the shaman. Last year the shaman was 이영식, and I am not sure why it's changed. 김명하 will perform in the majority of the 12 acts-- my rough count has him delivery more lines and being on the stage more than anyone else.

There is a brief discussion of final bows (yes or no, carrying a mask, wearing a mask, in costume, only for those in the last scene, etc.). Should we do "fan service"? (Here they mean, should we offer a chance to take photos together when we've got our costumes on). This discussion often involves "다른 단체" (other groups...). And finally it is agreed that after the bow (where everyone is in the last costume they wore), there should be a period of group dance with the audience.

Everyone hesitated to leave, but I live so far away, I bowed and left quickly.

Discussing Chuseok

Next week I will go to the KBS radio studios to record a special guest interview for a Chuseok special broadcast (thanks to Eugene for introducing me to the KBS radio host). Chuseok (추석) is the Korean harvest festival, sometimes translated into English as the Korean Thanksgiving, partially because it does include coming together with your family for a large meal. But Chuseok is much more than just a meal, leading me to prefer calling it a harvest festival-- to reflect the large number of activities that people would participate in/watch during Chuseok. [Thursday Edit: I was reading a blog by my friend Eugene (yep, same guy mentioned a couple sentences ago) and he expressed his frustration with Koreans constantly labeling Korean things "the Korean this" and "the Korean that." My mind immediately snapped to several instances of this, including when I wrote the above paragraph on Wednesday. I find no problem with someone saying that Chunhyang is the Korean Romeo & Juliet. The story is similarly tragic, and extremely well known. But there are so many cases where, as Eugene said, it's just ridiculous and ends up causing more misunderstanding than understanding.]

I am writing this blog as sort of a way to get my thoughts together before I have to speak eloquently (I hope) on the radio. In addition, this radio discussion will provide me with an example for my students for the Korean Folklore class I am teaching this fall. One of the main aspects of this class will be teaching my students how to explain Korean traditional customs in an engaging way in English. I chose that focus for two reasons (1). my students have varying personal experience and background knowledge of traditional customs. A few of them are from more traditional rural families, and have a much deeper understanding than my urban Christian students. Through focusing on explaining the traditions we manage to avoid making anyone feel uncomfortable for lack of knowledge, or frustrated through reviewing too many things they know. (2). Even if you have the background knowledge explaining things in an engaging way is crucial for growing interest/ re-connecting Koreans to their traditions-- and through learning how to make it interesting in English I am confident my students will also be able to turn on friends and family members with their presentations. Just this Monday one of my students was visiting my office and she told me she repeats everything I say (presumably she means the interesting bits) to her mom, who is a teacher, so that her mom will teach it to Korean young people.

I am a virus. ㅋㅋㅋ
I am infecting Koreans around me with my own attitude that not all traditions should be forgotten.

Okay, first of all, did you realize that there is more than one kind of jesa? (제사)

Jesa -Ancestral Rites
Jesa is one of those terms that Western people hear Korean use, usually glossed as 'ancestral worship ceremony,' or 'ancestral veneration' and often they don't feel comfortable asking more. Especially when a Korean tells them they're really tired because they were awake in the middle of the night doing jesa for their grandpa or their mother. It can feel rude to inquire further. Maybe you did, though, because you're curious and you felt comfortable asking that Korean friend. Probably (unfortunately) you wouldn't learn that much-- and you might get confused because of the different types of jesa and the (somewhat) different activities and motivations behind them. You'd hear about preparing special food, offered on an altar, or at a gravesite, clipping some grass, bowing, and probably an excuse about how your friend's uncle (father's oldest brother) or grandfather is the person who really knows all about it, that your friend just follows along as instructed.

The big types of jesa are gije (기제 or 기일제사), charye  (차례), and sije (시제).

With these three the type you need to sensitive about with your friend is gije -- this is the one that is done on the death anniversary for close relatives. So this might be for your friend's grandmother this week, and two month's later your friend's family might be doing it for his dad, or it could be the next week-- it all depends on when someone died. If the death is pretty recent then it is certainly a sad occasion -- getting together with family and memorializing that dear departed family member. Asking who the gije was for, and how long since he/she passed on would help you assess whether your friend might need some extra emotional support.

Charye is the type of jesa that is done at Chuseok. It's jesa for the relatives of 4 generations (count this from the generation of the family head, so if your friend has a living paternal grandfather this is counted from grandfather). Therefore a memorial tablet should be placed on the charye table for each of those relatives, usually in couple sets following the male line (paternal great grandparents, great great grandparents...). Of course, if by chance someone has died of a generation below the family head (paternal grandfather is alive, but father is dead), then father's tablet should be included on the table, too. So charye includes the recently passed, as well. Because charye is for 4 generations it is sometimes called sasanje (사산제). 

Charye  is held four times per year according to the Zhuzi Jiali (주자가례 in Korean), the family rituals of Zhu Xi (12th century, Chinese, the thinker whose brand of Neo-Confucianism became most dominant in Korea's Joseon Dynasty). The four times for charye are Chuseok, Seollal, Hansik, and Dano (or sometimes at Dongji (winter solstice), instead of one of the other four, depending on the family).

So charye is actually literally tea (cha) and rye (ceremony). But don't let your mind go to some orientalist representation of a Japanese tea ceremony-- alcohol is offered (and drunk) during Chuseok. It's earthy, it's gritty, it's real, it's Korean. It's not refined and exclusionary at all. To do charye at Chuseok you usually go take care of your grave site the weekend before (or a couple weekends before, because a lot of grave sites are located on little backroads that can get jammed up if everyone goes right at the same time-- or these days some people will just ask a couple family members to do it, and not perform the grave maintenance as an act of humility because humility be damned compared to the horrible inconvenience of visiting a tomb somewhat near the hometown that probably most people in the family don't even live in any more.)  This grave site maintenance (벌초) generally means clipping the grass and uprooting any weeds. So on Chuseok the family goes to the grave and bows with offered food and drink, but the elaborate table with offerings is at home. So the grave site ceremony is called Chuseok seongmyo and the ceremony at home, which usually takes place first on the morning of Chuseok is Chuseok charye.

Foods for the different charye, sije and gije vary by time of year of the ceremony and by region of the country. For Chuseok special foods include songpyeon (송편) -- specifically the type of songpyeon stuffed glutinous rice cakes that you make with pine needles in the steamer. It may be made with the new rice, and theoretically an unmarried woman who made pretty songpyeon was going to find a good husband, while a pregnant woman making pretty cakes would have a beautiful daughter (if you are wondering if in son-obsessed Korea this meant that you didn't want to even engage in making songpyeon at Chuseok if you happened to be pregnant, you'd be sort of right. After the cakes were cooked, if you sampled a cake and it was undercooked, you were having a girl, and if it was cooked completely, you were having a boy). In Jeolla Province they have a traditional offshoot to Chuseok charye  called olbe simni (올베심리)-- the offering of prematurely harvested rice (rice that isn't fully ripe). Other important foods at Chuseok include Taro Soup (토란국), skewered mushrooms (화양적), and skewered egged and breaded veggies and meat (느름적).

This graphic explains a somewhat standard table for charye. The back is to the north wall, notice that the west side and east side are carefully explained on the graphic. At the very back, the four things there are the ancestral tablets with the names of the deceased. The first row has noodles, rice, soup and songpyeon or ddeok. The second row has meat, savory pancakes, tofu, and fish. The third row has a meat soup, tofu soup, and fish soup. The fourth row has a different type of fish, then vegetable side dishes, soy sauce, and even a sweet rice called sikhye. The fifth row has different types of fruits and nuts and snacks. Then there is the table for ritual incense and alcohol. This is usually a lower and much smaller table. Female descendants are on the west side (left) and male on the east side. If someone is officiating and talking through the whole ceremony, pouring drinks, reminding people how many bows to do, etc. they will be at the east corner of the little table. 

Sije, a ceremony that few Korean families still observe, is the jesa that is done for the 5th generation and onwards back into the past. Sije can be held either on Hansik (Cold Food Day-- in April) or during the 10th lunar month (two months after Chuseok). Sije has several other names-- including 시사, 시향, 묘사, 묘전제사, 세일제, and 세일사. This ceremony is held regularly once per year at the tomb site, traditionally, although these days it is more common for people to eschew going to the tombsite. If sije is held on Hansik it is possible for charye and sije to be held four times total, whereas if sije is in the 10th lunar month there would be five ceremonies-- four charye and one sije.

So those are the three main types of jesa, but it gets even more complicated!
Jesa is Confucian culture, so of course we also have a Buddhist version, called daeryejae (다례재), usually held in the temple to honor monks who have passed, and of course the Won Buddhists always insist that they are not the same as the Buddhists, so they have a jesa just a little different than other groups.
The Catholics have long realized the importance of accepting jesa as a way to harmonize with Korean culture, and the Catholics also prepare their jesa a little differently. Naturally, instead of placing the names of deceased family members on the jesa table, the Catholics place a cross at the center back (so that you are not bowing down to dead people, but to the Lord).
The Protestants long prohibited any kind of jesa. To make it possible for some Protestants who are good Koreans and want to honor their ancestors, but don't want to "worship" them because that would be sacrilegious, there is the hybrid ceremony called chudosik (추도식). There is a good article in English on the topic by a guy who seems to have no idea how to spell his own name. Hung Chull Jang. I'd guess that's 장흥철 but...

Chuseok (beyond Jesa)
So Chuseok itself is actually celebrated on August 15th according to the lunar calendar. (The 15th is always full moon, the 1st is the new moon). The name Chuseok means Autumn Evening, and other terms for the holiday include 가재, 가재일, 가위, 한가위, 중추, 중추절, and 중추가절. To tell you the truth I've only ever heard people use (han)gawi, and jungchu before, but the book I am referring to as I write this paragraph listed those other names, too.

At Chuseok people didn't just cook a lot and bow to the deceased ancestors, they also would predict the harvest (rain=poor crop yields, clouds obscuring the moon completely was a bad sign, but a totally clear night was a very bad sign for barley farming.)

People would dress up at Chuseok in Chuseokbim (추석빔)-- special clothes and accessories. (설날 clothes are called 설빔, 단오 clothes are called 단오장). The clothes would be new, or maybe really well laundered. Because this was right before the cold season started, these clothes would be the new set of clothes to wear for the winter, often quilted 마고자 (a jacket) or a 두루마기 (long coat down to the knees). The special clothing for girl children would include the classic top with striped sleeves and a red skirt.

The alcohol associated with Chuseok is gabaeju (가배주)ㅡ if you were getting excited about trying a new type of Korean alcohol you'd  not previously had, sorry. This was just sort of the generic name for the alcohol available at Chuseok, the only thing special about it was that it might be made from the brand new crop of rice.

Ganggang Sullae (강강술래) is one of the key arts performed at this annual festival-- not that it was ever performed everywhere in Korea until more or less the modern era, though. This art is from the south coast of Jeolla Province. It is a circle dance, generally performed by a group of women (only). The dance steps and the accompanying song are not that difficult, what is difficult is constant flow from one type of pattern to another, including some special ones where the ladies form a bridge out of their backs and another walks along the bridge-- all while continuing the song in a classic folk song style where everyone sings a chorus and individuals sing each verse. Traditionally performed outside on the night of Chuseok (under that big moon), it is also performed at Daeboreum in some parts of Korea.

Particularly because it is preserved most actively on Jindo Island and the adjoining mainland, it is often associated with Admiral Yi Sunsin (the turtle boat guy-- the guy in the middle of the street in armor at Gwanghwamun). Some scholars try to link them together, but there is no credible evidence.

Ganggang Sullae is usually divided into three parts by speed of the accompanying drumming. There may be games inserted within the performance such as 개고리타령, 남생아놀아라, 고사리 꺽자, 쥔쥐새끼놀이, 청어엮고 풀기, 기와밟기, 덕석몰이, 꼬리따기, 문지기놀이, 가마등, 수건놓기, and 외따먹기. Each of these games has a connection to some sort of traditional activity, and in a long, full-length performance (usually just once per year), all these parts can be seen but otherwise the entire list will not be performed. Most scholars believe that the entire dance was performed to bring the gods pleasure, but that the deeper religious significance has been forgotten. The art is protected under Korea's Cultural Property Protection Law as Intangible Cultural Property #8.

Chuseok itself is an agrarian festival-- most of the various activities associated with it were connected somehow to the land and agricultural life. One such is geobugi noli (거북이놀이)-- the turtle dance/game. The turtle costumes were made from millet stalks, and usually two people would get inside the turtle's top shell and walk from home to home with a turtle leader and people playing pungmul music. The head of each house was to invite the turtle and troupe inside to play and dance, and the troupe would wish for the long life and prosperity of the family who lived in that house. The household should also feed and provide drinks for the performers. Apparently this tradition is still alive nearby where I lived in Gyeonggi Province, but to the best of my knowledge it's only a re-enactment, now. Also it's worth noting that the turtle, as a long life creature, was associated with these prayers for long life of villagers. A very similar practice elsewhere in Korea was called sonoli (소놀이) with pungmul and two people inside a cow costume. Another activity was a weaving game, called gilssam noli (길쌈놀이). And having sossaum (소싸움) or ox fights was also common. Don't worry the oxes fought each other, they weren't goaded like in the European style. These fights are still going on in places like Cheongdo in Gyeongsangbukdo.

For me what is interesting is two other performances-- that of Bak Cheomji noli (박첨지놀이),  and that of Songpa Sandae Noli (송파산대놀이).

I am going to start my first day of my Korean Folklore class with Bak Cheomji's tale. We'll be reading the story in translation. So this story is actually a puppet play with 9 human characters, a temple, a serpent, a hawk and birds, as well as the funeral flag bearers, carpenters, funeral casket bearers, and the mourners. The puppets in Korea are manipulated from below, generally on a single rod. The play is performed by two groups-- by the Namsadang group (and then it's generally called Ggokdu Gaksi Noleum), and by a group from Seosan. The story is the same, but the Seosan version is registered as regional cultural property for Chungcheonnamdo, instead of as a national one like the multi-act Namsadang (National Treasure #3). The puppet play, like most of the mask dance dramas, is not very complimentary to the upper class yangban, and particularly addresses the 처첩관계 -- the relationship of wife and concubine. In the regional version Buddhism looks pretty good-- fervent prayers to Buddha give the character Sogyeong his sight back-- but in the Namsadang version Buddhism is more heavily criticized.

Of course the characters are quite rude to each other. Here's a passage from the Namsadang version where old Pyo Saengwon is reunited with his old wife (a common scene in mask dance dramas, too). The old man criticizes the appearance of the old woman.

꼭두각시:  Do you know why this has happened? I must tell you. To look for you, I climbed a steep mountain in Gangwon Province where I ate acorn jelly. That is the reason by face has changed to its present appearance.
표생원: What? What are you talking about? You! You harlot! Are you trying to tell me that you have so many pockmarks on your face because you ate acorn jelly? I ate mounds of corn and acorns when I was coming to 산수갑산 from 백두산 in 함경도. But I don't have a single pockmark on my face. My face is as smooth as if it were planed. What an absurd and hollow liar! [pauses] However, if a dragon appears out of a small ditch, we must still call it a dragon. And even if the guardian of a temple is made of straw, we must still call it the guardian of the temple. According to this logic, I must now admonish 돌몰이, my concubine, to greet my wife. [He brings them together]. Well. Wife. Let's stop talking nonsense. We must discuss our future. You have already passed your sixtieth birthday. I am eighty years old and poor. In addition, we don't have a single child. What a great failure! Aren't you sad about this, too?
꼭두각시: I haven't seen you for many years, but this has been the cause of my worries.
            [translation by Oh-Kon Cho in his excellent book Traditional Korean Theatre]

Songpa Sandae Noli was a mask dance drama often performed during Chuseok festivities. But I have written about it repeatedly in the past, so I won't go into it more here. [Some previous posts on Songpa Sandae Noli 1 2 3 although those won't be particularly basic information].

[To write this post, in addition to a large number of things stored in my brain that I accessed, I also used the Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs, published in 2007 by the National Folk Museum of Korea, and I've been reading a very nice book called 제사와 차례.

All the Office Managers of the Mask Dance Drama Association Meet (and I get to attend!)

July 19^th, 2011

On Tuesday I met Kathy and 수미 Sumi from 봉산탈춤 Bongsan Talchum class at Seoul Stn and we three caught the bus to 단국대 Dankook University together. Outside campus we found that 허창열 Heo Changyeol, 황민왕 Hwang Minwang and 유세정 Yu Sejeong were running late. We started on lunch first but ordered for them and ended the meal together.

The class went really well, particularly at first. Changyeol is one of the most charismatic people I know, and despite his lack of ability to speak English he did a brilliant job. First he introduced the four basic percussion instruments to the students and taught them to speak the four different parts to 자진모리장단 jajinmori rhythmic pattern. After that he gave them a chance to play each of the instruments in turn. Every single student played every single instrument, although at times this was somewhat painful to the ears, Changyeol kept a giant smile on his face and the students loved the experience. He also tried to communicate the basic idea of Korean dance, having them move in a circle with bended knees and raised arms and feeling and responding to the music. This was not so successful, but everyone had fun anyway. Afterwards Changyeol performed 문둥북춤 Mundung Bukchum from고성오광대 Goseong Ogwangdae. He was brilliant, of course, because he's one of the most talented mask dancers I have ever seen. Yes, Changyeol deserves the superlatives. Next was Hwang Minwang's turn in the spotlight. Minwang is much more quiet and reserved than Changyeol but he's an amazing artist. He's an isuja for Namhaean Byeolshin'gut (shamanic ritual), as a specialist in music, not as a shaman. He talked about folk songs from around Korea and sang selections of folk songs and then sang shamanic ritual songs from different areas as well as demonstrating the 태평소 taepyeongso. It was really great.

Sumi, Kathy and I were heading in a different direction than Changyeol and Minhwang who had to drive Sejeong home before they'd go back to Seoul, so we separated after class. I ended up walking around central Seoul with Kathy, we met up with her fiancé, Tim, who I also know from LA and had a wonderful dinner.

July 20^th, 2011

On my day "off" I was very fortunate to have been asked if I'd like to attend a meeting of all the office managers from all the mask dance groups in Korea—the meeting was happening at 은율탈춤 Eunyul Talchum's office in Incheon—and 김영숙, 탄종원 picked me up so we could go together. I received clear proof that I was widely trusted -- I was worried that although escorted to the meeting by Songpa Sandae Noli's office manager that I would be kicked out at the start or before sensitive discussion, however when we arrived (somewhat late) it was to a flurry of jokes about whether I was the Songpa Sandae Noli American-branch representative or if I represented the interests of all Korean mask dance dramas in America. I stayed for the entire five hour (including excellent lunch) meeting which in addition to painfully choosing the date for an all group inclusive festival also covered financial details pertaining to the association (I even left with photocopies specifying expenditures) and contained frank information sharing and strategizing for future performances and festivals. I was allowed to record the entire meeting, contribute views and fact check.

In the evening I met 정회정 Jung Hoijung for dinner and a work session in a café near her house—we ignored each other most of the time and worked intensively on separate projects. 

Last Songpa Sandae Noli Practice

July 9^th, 2011

In the morning I worked on the computer in Starbucks with Lisa Kim Davis, an awesome UCLA professor currently doing some fieldwork in Korea.

We had our last 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli meeting for the first half of the year, first with a rehearsal and then with a meeting moving on to an early dinner. The entire day was not what I had expected.

When I arrived in the room it was half full of an extended family from Vancouver (two sisters and their families) all of Hong Kong descent. 함완식 Ham Sr. had met them outside and they'd been sad there wasn't a Saturday show (they stopped having Saturday shows a couple years ago) so Ham brought them in, he lectured them on Songpa Sandae Noli and when I arrived made me translate. Then he taught them some of the dance motions. It was all very awkward as other members kept arriving and they were NOT amused by the presence of random foreigners. This clearly illustrates Ham's personality, though. That and the kind of things he was saying to them (many of which I changed in translation because in English they just sounded like bragging) and his push for them (random people not connected to performance) to find the group an opportunity to perform in Vancouver.

So by the time they left we didn't really have any time for us to practice (I used a few minutes to get some info from the office manager). The meeting was started around 4 and over in 10 minutes, most of what was being discussed was a big all-mask-dance-group meeting in Andong in August (which has now been changed to Incheon in July). So it was 4:20 and people were leaving to eat, but they were going to a type of food I don't eat and dislike the smell and it was only 4:20 and I wasn't remotely hungry. So I didn't go.

Instead I had coffee with 이경호 Yi Gyeongho, an awesome friend of the last ten years or so since I first met him in Thailand. 

Catching Up

June 25^th, 2011

We went to the studio but really had nothing to do except talk a bit and take some commemorative photos.  In the afternoon I went to 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli it was only 함Sr. and 함 Jr. who showed up (it was raining cats and dogs). However, it was still good, esp. because FINALLY I got Ham Wanshik (Sr.) to give me a nice long interview.

June 26^th, 2011

On Sunday after lots of computer time Karjam and I roamed the city with a video camera.

June 27^th, 2011

I did a lot of work on the computer and reading.

June 28^th, 2011

I went to Dankook University this morning and dropped off my reader pages.

I did some work on the computer and in the evening went to a dance performance because 박연식 and 손병만 were in one of the groups. To tell the truth I had not been looking forward to the performance. It was a big omnibus performance with four different teachers, 한혜경, 김은희, 진유림 and 이정희. I have seen one of them do a big show before and it was quite a waste of time, but this time the other three were okay, pretty good, and really good, so it was not a bad show overall.  The really good was 이정희, who was also the teacher and leader of the performance that Son Byeongman and Bak Yeonshik were in (each teacher did two performances, one solo and one group).

But what made the show for me was that I had the best seats I've ever had. Which is a bit of a story. Yeonshik had asked me (three times) how many (free) tickets I needed, and I'd told him two. I was a little chagrined when Karjam decided not to go, but he's been to a lot of Korean dance performances, and some haven't been so good, so I understood. I didn't have time for dinner, so I quickly found a 삼각김밥 when I got off the bus and ate it as a I walked to the hall. I got in about 10 minutes before the show. And Yeonshik had not gotten my ticket to the counter and processed, which meant that –after- I met up with him (you should have seen the make-up he had on! And the fake eyelashes so long they must have tickled his eyebrows.) I had to try to redeem a 초대권 invitation ticket for a real ticket, but the show was sold out… so no chance of that, except a bunch of people were mobbing the desk trying to be let in to sit on the floor in the aisles. I couldn't handle pushing, and was standing back and suddenly a woman I know from 봉천놀이마당 Bongcheon Noli Madang but had only met once ran over (everyone was already entering the theatre, since it was now 2 minutes to showtime) and asked if I was alone and gave me a ticket. It was a 30,000 won ticket in the center section 3 rows back from the stage!!! And she refused to take any money for it.

I would have stayed very happy if only after the show it hadn't been raining (and I had no umbrella) so I jumped on the first bus that came, but it was heading the opposite direction of what I thought and I ended up taking the LONG LONG LONG way home. 

Most of a Week

June 13^th, 2011

I went to Yonsei to get ready for my class I'll be teaching at Dankook University—I had to print a bunch of things and also find some books and copy certain chapters, all in preparation for making a kick ass reader. I estimate I should get it to the university by the beginning of July, so I still have a tad bit of time. That is good because the library is even lamer than I expected and I could not find some extremely key books—however I was able to use credit that had been on my card since 2006 (!!!) to do the copying in the library.

I barely had time to get home and get back out the door with my stuff for 봉산탈춤 Bongsan Talchum.

At class we had a small turn out, a new high school student, 동호,  plus 윤식, 하연, 세준, 수미. We practiced the 7 of 8 monks in order, then did 애사당, 소무, 할미 and 사상좌.

June 14^th, 2011

I got odds and ends done, but no real writing again. Argh.

Karjam and I went to an amazing 판소리 pansori performance in the evening at 풍류극장. The performance featured one senior singer, 송순섭 and two of his students (one an 이수자, one a 전수자), as well as two 고수 (accompanists for pansori), one for the master and one for the students. The show was really great, and Karjam loved it, too.

June 15^th, 2011

I honestly am so far behind on updating this. I cannot remember anything special happening, I think I just worked on my conference paper the entire day.

June 16^th, 2011

I worked on my paper for most of the day then at 8 we had to go to the studio to add the last of 고석진 Go Seokjin's percussion tracks to the CD. It was sort of frustrating. Karjam was in a poor mood and that impacted his decisiveness and also made him dislike almost everything. It was actually more than sort of frustrating. And since he was irritated at me, I couldn't (as I normally do) make some choices when he was being indecisive. I'm a very good tie-breaker. At 1 (in the morning) we were all exhausted and Karjam still wasn't happy, but we called it quits. Then Seokjin, Karjam and I went to a GS25 and had instant noodles, instant ddeokbokgi and kimchi from a vacuum-packed bag. No this was not my idea.

June 17^th, 2011

I think I spent the entire day writing on my conference paper, increasingly freaked out that I wouldn't get it done.

In the evening I had 상모 sangmo class at Sogang University. It was awesome! Even though I haven't been able to have a class in a long time, today I was amazing! And I learned a whole routine to enter the stage (or the center stage for a solo) which will come in handy later on. Yay!

June 18^th, 2011

I took the bus to near Songpa Sandae Noli and then sat in a coffee shop and worked on the paper until time to practice. Class was very sparse, just 함완식 Ham Wanshik, 이수환 Yi Suhwan, 함승헌 Ham Seungheon and me. Yi Suhwan was teaching the motions and since he and I had a falling out over him repeatedly changing the English on the 송파산대놀이 facebook page (please visit it and "like" it), even though I'm the native English speaker who writes about Songpa Sandae Noli in English, he ignored me and taught Ham Jr. while Ham Sr. drummed and I just followed along. He was teaching him the part of 노장 Nojang, the old monk, so that was actually kind of interesting. This is one of the two parts that Yi Suhwan jealously maintains control of and almost always performs. From a dance perspective it's the most difficult solo in the entire drama. The most interesting part of class was a debate between Ham Sr. and Yi about changing motions in the dance. The debate may go in the dissertation word for word (I wrote as fast as I could).

After class I went back near home, but stopped at Chan's Bros and wrote for at least a couple more hours there before I went home.

The Weekend-- Dentist, Giant Ceremony, Seminar, Ahn Eunme

June 11^th, 2011

This is the definition of busy: to meet my really awesome friend 김월덕 Kim Woldeok and her new husband 주원 Juwon we actually went to the dentist. Juwon is getting an implant. This trip to the dentist ended up being very expensive. 750,000 won.

I left and headed home for a couple minutes and grabbed my camera to go to 경복궁 Gyeongbok Palace for a huge ceremony and spectacle. Not an actual performance per se. What happened was that France took these dynastic records 150 years ago and they were finally returning the records to Korea, so the government decided to add some pomp and ceremony, sort of Joseon Dynasty style.  

The important part for me was that 임실필봉농악 Imshil Pilbong Nongak, 고성오광대 Goseong Ogwangdae, 봉산탈춤 Bongsan Talchum and 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli all had to parade out and dance around. It was a chance to do a favor by taking photos and bow to a lot of people. Curiously the Pilbong crew was all college kids, or even high school kids like Hyeonseok—I mean they were people I've studied with, not under. I didn't see one person I know to be an isuja even. This is in contrast to the people from Goseong who came even farther, all of them, even the really fairly elderly farmers.

Photos of Bongsan Talchum are ready first because they already asked me why I hadn't given them the photos yet...

Kim Eunju in the front

Sometimes the lion attacks and eats a hapless bystander. This little girl got away. 

June 12^th, 2011

I met this professor, 조경만 Jo Gyeongman, through FB (we have a mutual FB "friend"), and he invited me to a small seminar that he was presiding over. I went to the seminar not because I thought the topic would work well for me, but because I suspected some other members might be good contacts. It was really tough—everyone had read and prepared, and they were discussing very highly theoretical concepts (about eco-anthropology) in Korean. I mean, how well can you discuss the Panopticon in English? Okay, now try to explain it in Korean. No, I didn't do that, but Prof. Jo explained it to the rest of the people. If I wasn't familiar with Foucault, trust me I would have missed the entire point. It was all 75cent vocabulary with the occasional equivalent of "a" "however"  "if" etc. thrown in.  Okay, maybe I exaggerate a tiny bit. But seriously, if I'd done the same reading it still would have been tough for me to keep up (much less add to the discussion). On the other hand there was another member I've arranged to meet next Sunday.

After that I hurried to my neighborhood to watch Ahn Eunme company rehearsing Princess Bari. They'll be doing a 17 minute version later this week via-Skype. They have to do it in the middle of the night because the other side is watching it around noon in Toronto! It was really interesting and fun, especially the mix of 민요 minyo with 판소리pansori that they're using as the major auditory color of the piece. There are four singers- two men and two women, with one singer of each genre a man and one a woman.

Seoul to Jinju and Back to Seoul

May 29^th, 2011

I woke up and took a bus to Jinju, where I met Heike, my German friend who is the chair of the poli-sci department at the local university. We had a long talk, watched some performance, wandered, look at Jinju fortress, etc.

A little after 5 the 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli team showed up. Everyone was surprised to see me, except perhaps the office manager who knew I'd be going and hadn't invited me to ride down with them. Of course if I had done that I wouldn't have had a nice long talk with Heike. The performance was the standard 1 hour version.  강차욱 was missing to 함완식 introduced the group, the instruments and the art, then they went through the acts with, I noticed, two new 소무 Somu masks. Hmmm. The noses didn't look even a little Korean, are the masks catching up to the plastic surgery craze? (That's a joke since the people in the group are hardly the type to do plastic surgery, I think it was just poor construction). After the show 이영식 led the audience to learn the motions, I got some great photos of everyone in the crowd with their arms up.

The office manager had invited me to ride back, so I did.

May 30^th, 2011

On Monday Karjam had another day of recording in the studio. We recorded until around 4, although he lost his voice around noon, again.

Then I went and met 황종욱 Hwang Jong'uk, the manager of 고성오광대 Goseong Ogwangdae. If I asked him about A he told me about A-F, including tangents. He was an excellent interviewee in the sense that I hardly had to say half a question before he just expounded at length. He's also very opinionated and knowledgeable. I had no idea about his entire background, but now that I know more I'm even more impressed. I also think he puts a bit of an act on to be more brusque and for lack of a better word, more of a hick, than in fact he is. However I pay the amazing woman who transcribes my interviews into written Korean by the hour of material she transcribes, and his interview was long (two hours) and often heading in directions that I didn't really need. Also by the time it ended I was already late for 봉산탈춤 Bongsan Talchum class.

At Bongsan Talchum we were all exhausted. All of us. We looked like asking us to dance was the end of the world. After going through each of the monks once (and I was late so I only went through 6 of them) 김은주 Kim Eunju took us (병호, 하연, 연식, 세준, 수미) to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Only 연식 had already had dinner. 

May 31^st, 2011

I went to meet Professor 전경욱 Jeon Gyeong'uk at Korea University (he's a noted mask dance expert) and talked with him as well as some of his students, sometimes interviewing him and had dinner with him. I was there from around 4 until 8. 상모 sangmo had been cancelled again, so I had that kind of time. 

Writing an Article Eats all my Time

May 15^th, 2011

It doesn't feel accurate to say that the day of the 송파산대놀이Songpa Sandae Noli full length performance had come at last because in fact last year we did the full length performance in October, so it had only been about seven months. At any rate, we had the full-length performance.

Observations:

1) So many members from other groups showed up to congratulate the Songpa Sandae Noli folks, including people from Bukcheong Saja Noleum, Yangju Byeolsandae, and Hahoi Byeolshin'gut Talnoli but I couldn’t do more than bow, I was busy stuffing 떡 (a Korean dessert) into bags and boxes. Then during the show I never saw any of those people (I think they all left). 전경욱교수님 Professor Jeon Gyeong-uk stuck around until perhaps halfway through in his guise as a 무형문화재위원회원 – government evaluator.

2) We used the ground as seating to reduce the size of the huge 서울놀이마당 Seoul Noli Madang space. That was great. Everything went off very well.

3) After the show I learned a bunch of cool upcoming stuff.

Then I went home and kept working on the KOREA article.

May 16^th, 2011

For the KOREA article (after a whole morning writing) I went to meet 이정윤 Yi Jeongyun, one of two principal male dancers from the National Dance Company of Korea, and a photographer, 박정로 Bak Jeong-roh who does work for KOREA magazine on a regular basis. I was really impressed with Bak- I immediately felt comfortable with him. Perhaps I just like photographers.

He took photos of Jeong-yun outside, then inside, then we sat on a rooftop there at the National Theatre of Korea and I did a two hour interview.  It was at times hard to come up with what to say-- I don't really think like a magazine reporter and I didn't really have enough background about him-- it turns out he's a real star, but even that I didn't know until I got home and did some more background checking based on having learned that he'd done this major featured performance in early April. Wish I could have seen it. The interview went so long that either I'd be late to Bongsan Talchum or I'd go home and get to work, I opted for the latter. The interview took me until about 5 a.m. to finish translating and editing, although I did take some time off to talk to Kim after she returned to my house (she spent Sunday night with another friend).

May 17^th, 2011

I worked on the KOREA article all day, including doing a two hour interview with 안은미 Ahn Eunme who is a personal friend and a very remarkable modern dancer. In fact the pieces of hers that I like the most are the best modern dance pieces I've ever seen in my attending-far-too-many-dance-performances life. I'd say my list of top modern dance pieces has two of hers as 1 and 2, and then probably 4 and 5 are hers, too. The interview was partially to get ideas for the KOREA article (since it's on use of Korean elements in modern dance and ballet) and partially to see her and partially to see if talking with her stirred up ideas for other stuff I should write in my dissertation.

Promo photo of Ahn Eunme from the internet

After that Kim and I went back home and I eventually headed to 상모 sangmo though I had totally spaced that we now start at 7 (we haven't started at 8 since December) and so I was a good half hour late. Then after a solid diet of coffee all day I was so out of it I couldn't spin properly. Went home, write until 4 a.m. on the article. 

Songpa Sandae Noli Prepares to Perform

May 13^th, 2011

I started the day with a list of about 7 items I wanted to take care of, but somehow it seemed that only two got taken care of because new tasks seemed to materialize like slugs after a nice rainfall. Everything I had to do seemed to take longer than it should have, too.

In the evening I had the second week of my new 사물놀이/상모 samulnori and sangmo class. I introduced my German friend Jan to the class, too. His first time to ever hold drums sticks, but he seemed to do fairly well. We did the drumming first, then for the last hour those of us who wanted to do sangmo (효진, 정환 and next week 선호 and this other woman who went to high school with 이종휘 are going to bring their sangmo, too). I managed to get both my 일사 motion and this other motion (the name of which is temporarily escaping me) up to a much more acceptable level. I now do 일사 with the 소고 sogo which is the difficult part of it for me. After class they all went to have a drink, of course I couldn't because of Karjam.

May 14^th, 2011

Because the 송파산대놀이 전기공연 Songpa Sandae Noli Annual full length performance (the 38^th year of full length performances, the 46^th full length performance held during that time) is Sunday, Saturday was devoted to a full length rehearsal.  

At 서울놀이마당 Seoul Noli Madang we quickly moved outside to the madang itself to practice. Mats were set out for the musicians to sit on and we began from the first act: 상좌춤놀이 Sangjwachum Noli. Professor 이병옥 Yi Byeongok performed the first sangjwa part as people walking by were attracted by the music and sat down to watch the rehearsal. During the second act, Omjung, Meokjung Noli there were a couple moments where 함완식 and 안병인 took some movements over, but for the most part the acts continued exactly as they would be performed except for the fact that there were no costumes or masks. Some people were wearing 민복 minbok but not everyone- the musicians and few dancers were just wearing street clothes. I found it interesting that 이수환 continually took photographs during this rehearsal and no one told him to stop. I am sometimes forbidden from taking photos during rehearsals, and I am generally aware that I am not supposed to use any of them without permission. When I have brought other foreigners (including my mom) to the training center then 함완식 has strongly forbidden them (he would have less control over their photos than mine) from taking any at all.

As 함완식 speaks his lines, without the microphones of course, he seems to be using the force of his entire body to project the dialogue. I found watching Act 3 연닢눈끔재기놀이, which I have been concentrating on learning the most in class the most fun of all. Watching the entire expert cast do the scene was so different than before I had almost memorized the dialogue for the act. Audience members continued to come and go as we practiced with some people, especially those who were a little more elderly staying for long periods of time.

The "audience" of performers spends time discussing and gossiping with each other, says the lines quietly to themselves (especially the funny ones, the 불림 bullim and the short songs) at the same time as the performers, or rehearses lines they will need to speak in a few minutes when it is their turn to go on stage.

In the evening I went to the train station and met my good friend Kim who is having a flying visit to Korea. We had a great dinner and talk, then came home and she finally got to meet Karjam. 

A Club Practices Songpa Sandae Noli!

April 9^th, 2011

Georgy came to Seoul. Otherwise, nothing interesting.

April 20^th, 2011

I made pancakes for breakfast and then miraculously despite putting it off for weeks did our taxes. I hate giving the government taxes out of my fellowship money. It's just offensive. Seriously.

I went to 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli class. Class was just 함완식 Ham Wanshik with no one to help him, but he did a great job. The older woman (53 but her skin looks maybe 35) who is a friend of 이수환 Yi Suhwan was there. Her name is 김은수 Kim Eunsu. The interesting thing was I started asking her about who she'd been practicing with. Apparently everyone would know this, but I didn't, 방송 통신대학교 which I am too lazy to look up but it's like Broadcasting Communications University, but it's a remote plan where you can learn without necessarily full attendance, or just evenings or weekends, or internet or whatever, has a club for Songpa Sandae Noli, or more specifically they have a club called 민속연구회 Folk (Culture) Research Group (they go by Minyeon 민연) that does Songpa, Samulnori, and Korean dance for example fan dance. They've been doing this since she says 77 or 78 and most of the participants aren’t good at Songpa but a few are very good, and they should come learn from the group sometimes, but they don't since some people are so good, and they perform and everything. She still practices with them every week. She said they might come except they're busy older people with families. 

For class we did Act 3 and Act 4 (before Aesadang enters the stage). It went pretty well. 어원석 Eo Wonseok and 함승헌 Ham Seungheon were both late, in Ham Jr's case very very late, so it was me, Eunsu, Ham's friend, and the two elementary school girls.