A Visit to Bukcheong Saja Noleum and Bongsan Talchum Class

May 19^th, 2011

In the morning I finished the edits for the article in KOREA magazine and sent them to Editor Ines. I'd post at least one of the three stand-alone parts of the article here, except that would be before their version came out and I don't think they're paying me to use the articles in my blog. I can say, though, that in finding a way to add more content because Ines had nixed one section of the main article, I was able to add a nice fat section on Goseong Ogwangdae and even quote one of my past interviews with 이윤석 Yi Yunseok.

After finishing those articles and doing a couple other things that were overdue (including finally scheduling an interview with someone who has been beastly hard to reach). Then I left much earlier than usual for the Intangible Cultural Assets Training Center. I went directly to the 북청사자놀음 Bukcheong Saja Noleum office. It turned out it was the National Human Treasure there (이근화선 Yi Geunhwaseon and yes that's a very unusual name for a Korean)'s birthday. I was invited to go to dinner with them, but I really just wanted to have a conversation and practice 봉산탈춤 Bongsan Talchum. So I had a bit of a conversation with 이건홍 Yi Geonhong (이수자 isuja and Yi Geunhwaseon's son-- he has two daughters- one is an isuja, one is a jeonsuja), who is now the director of the new (just instituted in March) 중요무형문화재 총연 합회. I recorded a little of his description of the group and its plans/goals but although I think they're good, the goals seem too focused on communicating Korean traditional culture to foreigners, when honestly the more immediate goal should be to reverse the knowledge drain which is occurring as the older generation slowly but surely dies off. They plan to make a really great center where they can have the people protecting craft arts sit down and work on their arts as an ongoing demonstration, have a gift shop and gallery and have performances. This all really sounds like this building (Intangible Cultural Assets Training Center), why do we need another? How will the new facility be different? The only large difference I could see was that they would be able to offer ongoing performances so that any night (or any night except Monday for example) there would be a traditional performance for the audience (foreigners being the target) to see. It seems to me that there is a lot of desire for an ongoing/permanent/dedicated theatre for a traditional arts show hoping to mirror the success of 미소 Miso (at 청동극장 Chongdong Theatre) or Jump, Nanta and other such shows.

Honestly Miso is crap but it exists, it's already out there in the world, and although I'm not saying it's sold out every night, I am saying I'm not sure that a new show needs to compete with Miso, or more significantly with the Saturday traditional music and dance show (in many ways also focused at foreigners and compared to 40-50 dollar Jump it's quite affordable at less than 10 bucks) at the National Gugak Center It's true that the Gugak Center's show is also not sold out every time, but it's also on a Saturday and competing with everything else that's going on, even at 5 pm, since with transpo time 5 pm would still preclude many other Saturday evening activities. The show at the National Gugak Center, which usually has around 8 parts does include a couple duds sometimes but in general it's pretty good (a million miles away from Miso and its contrived story and orientalism).

Anyway, after a bit of light interviewing I agreed to come back and interview at Bukcheong Saja Noleum's office on another day and I went to Bongsan Talchum's office where 장용일 Jang Yongil was teaching from 중앙대 Jungang University percussion department students 사자춤 Sajachum or lion dance. I secured the right to be a staff member at the full length performance the weekend after next!!!!

In class we had seven people (not that many…), 허세준, 이병우, 현석, 화연, 하연 and 수미. We practiced fairly typically, with 화연 who is new  (4th class?) learning the basics between when the rest of us practice everything. In fact both 병우 and 현석 still make mistakes, but they know it all. After going through the 7 monks (missing monk 1 of course), the four women (including me in spot # 1) went through 사상좌춤 sasangjwachum. Then everyone practiced 소무 Somu. I keep bringing my fan because 김은주 Kim Eunju promised we'd be learning 할미 Halmi (grandmother) but I've been bringing my fan for a month and we haven't started yet. 

Great Songpa Sandae Noli Rehearsal

March 26th, 2011
Saturday has traditionally been my day for 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli. When I returned to Korea late last summer everyone still practiced in one group on Saturday, but before long they decided to split up the practice so that the 이수자 isuja would have their own special practice on Friday nights. This was partially out of a sense that what they needed to practice was different than what others needed (the isuja handle the bulk of the performance duties but haven't been doing it as long as the higher ranked people, so they are still rehearsing specifically to improve their performance), and partially because the timing was more convenient for the majority of the isuja. Honestly I was annoyed at first, because I thought it would be poor for my research not to see how the isuja were practicing. But honestly, I've seen them all practice before right when I got here and in past years. There really isn't anything that would have been that different. With them gone, the idea is that the Saturday and Sunday practice could actually work on equipping the jeonsuja (registered students) and other junior members with the skills needed to perform with the troupe. Which I'd like, since I've only been able to perform Songpa Dari Balpgi so far. Recently I was talking to 어원석 Eo Wonseok and he told me that he practiced for more than ten years before he was allowed on stage. Talk about a way to discourage people from continuing to practice! With isuja and jeonsuja on the same day, basically the jeonsuja are expected to learn from watching, without many chances to actually stand up and participate.

In class on Saturday we began with three accompanists (I forget the name of the 피리 piri player, but 함완식 Ham Wanshik our National Human Treasure was there to play janggu and 박주현 Bak Juhyeon came to play 대금 daegeum. Jeonsu gyoyuk jogyo 이수환 Yi Suhwan was there, as well. There were three jeonsuja, Eo, 함승훈 Ham Seunghun and me. For learners we had Ham Wanshik's annoying friend, Yi Suhwan's friend (her second or third practice), plus the two elementary school girls. It was sort of obvious from the moment I got there that Yi would be running class that day, but I'd just been fighting with him on FB over the previous two days (and I felt very disrespected) so I was not particularly happy to see him. I did not greet him warmly or talk to him directly at any point during the practice. However, it was the best practice I've had for Songpa Sandae Noli –ever- in my 7 years with them. Before things started Yi and Ham were discussing why the preparations for the performance would be on Friday not on Saturday, because of course this creates a problem since Eo and Ham Jr. will perform, but they aren't welcome to Friday night practice. So they have to practice acts that need multiple players without the others who will actually perform in the Annual Full Length performance (scheduled for May 15th this year).

First we all did the basic motions with Yi leading, using our voices instead of the 장구 janggu to mark the timing (deong ddak gi deong ddak –eolsu- and repeat). It was a bit odd because most everyone doesn't have the level of physical conditioning to keep up the 입장단 Ip Jangdan, so I was more or less the only person doing it by the end. It was also weird, and I don't know if this is an old habit that has fallen out of practice, but Ham Wanshik kept practicing 불림 bullim scripts instead of doing the jangdan (the timing is the same), and it was really distracting because I've never heard that done before. After about fifteen minutes the three musicians sat down to play and the rest of us went through the basic motions for over 15 minutes in a circle. It was long enough that we worked up a good sweat. Yi told Ham Jr. and Eo they'd have to work on their acts and after a short discussion (where Yi pointed out incredibly obvious things like how your motions should be bigger –spatially- in a big madang than if you're performing on a small stage) we moved onto practicing the acts.

The two then ran through the act (act 5) one time, then Ham Wanshik had the rest of us join in. We did it one more time after which Ham could not resist being all authoritarian so he went to the white board to explain all about the act, but then gets worried he's not quite on and asks me not to write down what he's writing on the board. Which wasn't something I could fully follow anyway, as it had more to do with the historic meaning of 곤장 (act 5 is 곤장놀이) than anything that happens in the play. Ham should really either prepare a lecture or not go to the white board, but I guess I can't tell him that.

Then we switched to act 3 (the one I've been practicing) and this time I was 먹중 갑 Monk 'Gap' instead of 'Eul' which I've done every time so far. I did a pretty good job, actually. I delivered my lines with confidence, anyway. We were all (except Eo) reading from the script the whole time, though. Next we practiced 말뚝이 Malddugi's act, which was the first time I could ever do that one! I got to be 도련 Doryeon, the youngest of the yangban, and that was fun because he's all goofing off and running around and stuff (but no dialogue). Coolness!

Class ended then, a full two hours after we started!

After class, unfortunately, Ham Wanshik's annoying friend decided to confront me in the middle of Lotteria when we were all having a nice bit of fries and soda and various types of burgers. We'd gotten in each other's faces a couple weeks before—honestly I didn't behave like a Korean should and he was being a dick, so we were both at fault. Whatever, worked it out.

March 27th, 2011
Chans Bros on the computer and at home on the computer. I skipped Sunday Songpa Sandae Noli practice because I just wanted to get some sleep instead.

Big Lunch Meeting

March 10th, 2011
I practiced 합기도 Hapkido until 9:30, went to 동대구 Dongdaegu Station and caught a train back to Seoul. I arrived in the early morning and since the taxi line was long I decided to see if there was still a bus (although I didn't expect there to be as it was after 1 a.m.). Miracle of miracles, there was, although I had to wait 18 minutes to catch it (fortunately the bus stop sign tells me how many minutes I have to wait, the 402 was one of the only buses still running).

March 11th, 2011
I had only returned to Seoul in order to attend an important meeting I had coordinated on Friday with 엄승용Eom Seungyong from the 문화재청 Cultural Properties Administration, his staff member 김인규 Kim Ingyu, 탄종원 Tahn Jongwon from 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli, 허창열 Heo Changyeol from 고성오광대 Goseong Ogwangdae and 황민왕 Hwang Minwang from 남해안별신굿 Namhae'an Byeolshin'gut. The meeting was a little less productive than I had hoped. Partially because Korean culture kicked in with so many Koreans in the room, which meant that Changyeol who is quite vocal, normally, was suddenly quiet, and Tahn Jongwon was fairly loud because he's probably around the same age as Eom and certainly he's older than everyone else. Hwang cut in fairly often, but I ended up talking more than I had intended to. We discussed a wide variety of topics, although Eom had to leave after a little more than an hour and we were left talking to Kim, who honestly probably is the person who has to put things into effect anyway, even though it's up to Eom how Kim uses his time. We had a nice lunch, too, but the dish I chose was much too small, and I was left feeling pretty hungry. The details of the lunch discussion would be too many to type and some of the discussion was quite speculative and "what if the CPA does this?" or "as artists what would you think if the CPA did that?" So it would be appropriate to put it all up here. However I did record the entire 2.5 hours, so I can review the discussion later and see what's there that might be included in the dissertation.

I went home changed my clothes, repacked my bag and left for 대구 Daegu. I got to my 합기도 Hapkido studio at 8:30 and practiced until 11:30 (seriously), when the 관장님 Instructor drove everyone home. I had elected to stay at his house since the test was early and I didn't want to bother Georgy and 진홍 Jinhong and spend all that time on the subway just to sleep. I had a nice dinner (at midnight) with the instructor and stole the neighbors' internet which worked just well enough to check my email and read more on the devastation in Japan.

Goseong Ogwangdae Mask Dance Intensive- Basic Motions

January 17th, 2011
It was hard to sleep, since the heater apparently will only get our room just so warm. With two blankets –and- the small blanket I brought from Seoul with long underwear, a shirt, tank top AND hat on, I was able to sleep reasonably well. The room had heated up to 12 degrees (c.) by the morning. Around 18-20 would be my choice, and many people keep their houses or offices around 25. Thanks be it's warmer here than in Seoul.

All day on Monday I was one of the three cooks, together with 정운 Jeong-un and 태환 Taehwan. For breakfast we made fermented bean paste soup with tofu and veggies with egg rolls, for lunch we made kimchi stew (with tuna) and for dinner mandu stew (I ate leftover bean paste soup instead). We were also the clean-up crew. With other groups I observed a rotation per meal as the regular state of affairs, but this group didn't see that as necessary, and I have to admit I like the fact that I'm done with my tasks in terms of food and clean up (unless I want) until next Monday.

We had a meeting first thing in the morning with each group giving a brief introduction, 황종욱 Hwang Jong'uk led a brief opening ceremony followed by an address by 이윤석 Yi Yunseok, the National Human Treasure for the group. The various groups were ordered to sing or otherwise entertain us, and one of the KNUA members sang a section from 적벽가 Jeokbyeokga, one of the five extant 판소리 pansori epics, he did a good job. The other presentations were not connected to traditions, however. Then the group was roughly divided into two parts and ordered to do the entire basic motion set. Because of practicing at 봉천놀이마당 Bongcheon Noli Madang, if I have someone to follow along with, then I don't have a problem. However, ironically the group I was part of (the second group) had not one student who had successfully memorized the basic motions (or who still remembered them). It was ridiculous and embarrassing for the arts university—on the other hand as I told several people last night, they are not mask dance majors, or all but one of them are not. The one who is a major is the other mask dance major besides 원중 Wonjung to get entry to the university this year. She started 강령탈춤 Gangnyeong Talchum when she was in third grade, although she hastened to assure me that she had several significant periods where she wasn't participating.

After the first run through disaster everyone followed along while Yi Yunseok explained (a lot) and had us follow his motions (a little). Yi's very amusing—he used to frighten me, he's silver haired and dignified seeming and he barks (unexpectedly and not connected to anger). Throughout the day he had three primary things that he kept yelling and making us repeat:
베기 : 귀신을 베는 사위 -- be-gi : which could be interpreted as getting rid of ghosts or malevolent spirits, but he explained that in the modern world it refers to any sort of thing you need to get rid of, not just ghosts.
으시개 : 어깨를 들썩들썩 움직임 eushigae: a sort of up and down shrugging type motion with the shoulders—motion of the shoulders is essential to proper performance of 고성오광대 Goseong Ogwangdae
배김새 : 마음을 한곳으로 모아서 떨처내는 사위 baegimsae: the name of this one type of motion that occurs in the mask dance in several different times where you slap your hands onto your knees, it's a very distinctive motion from the mask dance drama
He also barked a lot of other random things, and both students and the crew of 이수자/ 전수자 isuja and jeonsuja (third and fourth ranked in the preservation association) admitted they often cannot understand him. If one looks past the barking, however, it's obvious that he's a sweetheart and just quite unusual in his manner of speech. After Yi explained 도수 Dongsu, one of the isuja, led us through the earliest motions in the set of basic motions.

Next was lunch. I explained the menu above, but annoyingly we were out of rice, we didn't have enough for everyone's meal, and I was actually only about half full after eating. Which was really sad because the kimchi stew (I cooked it) was really awesome. Everyone else thought so, too. The reason for the rice issue is that on Saturday one of the students sent 20 kg of rice by delivery service, but it hasn't arrived yet. A lot of our food is arriving by delivery from parents. Giant batches of various side dishes have already appeared. However, in my experience, it would not be a real intensive camp experience without some sort of problems with the food!

The afternoon was exactly the same—first some students had to sing or what not, then Yi teaching us with a lot of talking (and occasional barks) and then Dongsu teaching us with much less talking and a lot more just repeat and repeat of the motions. At 4:30 we had a yoga class for an hour. It was really funny because they said yoga, and leisure in Korean is 여가 yeoga, which sounds almost the same as 요가 yoga. So I kept thinking that at 4:30 we'd be left to our leisure. At any rate, the yoga teacher was a long haired gentleman in his early 50s who was slightly more flexible than me! I liked the class. Believe it or not, my first ever yoga class (I've only taken pilates once, in case you were wondering).

After dinner we went back for more class, although first I stopped in 황종욱 Hwang Jong'uk's office and did a 10 minute internet check and a 20 minute explanation to 허창열 Heo Changyeol, an isuja, how he could structure his master's thesis. He's very much in an MFA type program where his activities have been just that, activities, with very little writing, so he's a bit intimidated by the thesis and has already put of graduation because he can't figure out quite what to do. He explained what he wanted to write about and I helped him outline how he could make that topic into both something that was academic and that was long enough to get him the diploma. It was actually a fun conversation. Besides, I really like Changyeol. I immediately found he was a sort of kindred spirit from the first time I talked with him. After I joined the group upstairs I found that Dongsu had returned to continue teaching the next part of the basic motion set. After he finished teaching I stayed with 진규 Jin'gyu, the most senior of the KNUA students at 30 (Korean age), he is a recent graduate. He knows Goseong Ogwangdae the best out of the students, so we practiced together with some of the other people including the women who work for Noridan, a social enterprise that has a performing arts division (they aren't performers, though). The leader of their group of three is the best mask dancer amongst every student of the classes this week. Her motions are really awesome. Honestly I thought that Jin'gyu shouldn't have been trying to teach her, but I think he felt as a man or an arts budding-professional a desire to assert his knowledge. Or maybe he just hadn't noticed she was the only person clearly better than him.

I thought it was going to be a really early night with sleep catch up for me, but then around 11 or a little after Changyeol, 김성범 Kim Seongbeom (isuja), 안대천 An Daecheon (isuja) and another guy who I think is also a jeonsuja showed up at our accommodations and I ended up sitting with them and drinking some 막걸리 makgeolli. Changyeol is one year younger than the group that includes Daecheon and Seongbeom. I've met all of them before through performances and various events but this is the first time I've had a chance to get to know them. Last time I had training at Goseong Ogwangdae there weren't any of the younger isuja and jeonsuja around with the exception of Dongsu. I will find out more about why they're around now (I suspect a connection to the KNUA students, since Daecheon and Changyeol are KNUA grad students who already finished the bachelor's program these students are in). I also hope to interview all of them. The conversation over drinks was wide ranging but mostly irreverent and funny coupled with too much discussion of military service (the others at the table were all men, since most are mid to late twenties, military service is still a hot topic.

Part of the view on the commute from where we stayed to the training hall:

Jeon Gwangyeol (instructor for Malddugi and generally for blocking Act 2):

Interesting Face (another team, never caught his name):

Yi Maebang's Final Performance

December 26th, 2010
Our main activity of the day was to attend 이매방 Yi Maebang (the most famous traditional dancer in Korea)'s final performance. He has so very many fans and former students (despite the high rates to study with him) that the large hall at the 국악원 gugakwon was sold out in the 50,000 and 40,000 won seating areas, with only a few seats left in the 3rd floor balcony 30,000 won seats that I bought for Karjam and myself. The 3rd floor was also swelteringly hot (especially considering the multiple layers we were wearing). There were high points to the show, but I felt that mostly we were there to support the traditional arts and pay tribute to one of the most influential figures in traditional arts. 양종승 Yang Jongseung, my mentor who is a senior curator at the National Folk Museum and was Yi's student during his own doctoral fieldwork (he is an 이수자 (isuja, third ranked) in one of Yi's arts, 승무 seungmu or the monk's dance, was the MC. Yi is one of the very few people in Korea to attain National Human Treasure status in two arts.

Yi himself danced part of three numbers, seungmu, 입춤 Ipchum and 살풀이 (salpuri is the other art he's listed for). In each case he seemed about to totter over. His steps were small and careful, his arms were shaking and each time as he went to leave the stage a young woman in Uggs ran out to at least 1/3 across the stage to support him as he walked off. When he bent down to pick up the scarf in salpuri I was concerned he'd get stuck down there. Honestly, I think he should have had his final performance a few years ago, he simply could not do justice to the dances or his own reputation. The best performances of the night were 보렴무 Boryeommu and 삼고무/오고무 Samgomu/Ogomu with women on the 3 drum sets and 7 men and 1 woman playing the 5 drum sets.

KTV at Songpa Sandae Noli

December 4th, 2010
Saturday was the day for KTV to come to 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli but that didn’t work out as planned. 김영숙 Kim Yeongsuk had not told others they were coming and 함완식 Ham Wanshik and 안병인 Ahn Byeong’in did not find it appropriate for the TV camera to be suddenly there without going through channels. Principally they wanted Songpa to look better than we do when it’s only the 전수자 jeonsuja practice. They wanted to see more musicians and more people in the room. Before long Ham was planning for the TV station to come back the next Saturday and he’d call out to all the members of the preservation association to show up and we’d even wear the masks… which is exactly the sort of thing I’m trying to avoid. Kim Yeongsuk understood that, which is why just a regular jeonsuja practice was fine. Sure, Songpa Sandae Noli wanting to look great is understandable, but we’ve never worn masks in rehearsal –ever-. Who knows if the TV folks will come back or not. At any rate, Ham sat the jeonsuja down in front of the white board and gave us a mini-lecture on Songpa Sandae Noli, which was also fake. Any real lecture will go into depth that he didn’t touch, leaving aside the fact that he’s never used the white board for teaching before. Then we had to do the motions but with no teacher in front of us, with Ham just calling out the motion names (I’m used to getting the visual clue to be able to fall along, the motion names are usually hard to hear because they’re said by someone over the sound of several instruments on the far side of the room from me). It was kind of frustrating. After the TV guy and Ham left Kim Yeongsuk and I talked for awhile about what to do to improve Songpa Sandae Noli’s future direction.

December 5th, 2010
On Sunday I spent about 4 hours at Starbucks busting into article editing and working on the Chushyeoyo review. In the evening Karjam and I went shopping for envelopes and had dinner in a very authentic Japanese restaurant 지수 Jisu introduced me to.

A Visit to Goseong Ogwangdae Class at KNUA and KTV Films me at Bongsan Talchum

November 29th, 2010
Wow. It was a really long day. In the morning I went to the Korean National University of the Arts, the school that 원중 Wonjung (frequently mentioned on this blog) will attend, starting with the new school year (that’s March in Korea). I went today because I heard from연순 Yeonsun that 황종욱 Hwang Jong-uk was teaching a class there in 고성오광대 Goseong Ogwangdae and I really wanted to see what sort of teaching methodologies he was using and how the students were receiving the class. When I called him to ask if I could come along, he told me that 허창열 Heo Changyeol would be teaching the classes (there are two) on Monday instead of him. He told me though it would still be fine for me to attend and had Changyeol call me a few minutes later to set everything up. Which is why as the snow melted off the trees I was waiting outside 신이문 Shinimun Station to see if Changyeol was someone I knew, or not. It turns out he was someone I’ve seen (for example in the performance “Chushyeoyo” which I wrote about seeing before, and at the big meeting of all the mask dancers and before and after the Goseong Ogwangdae performance on 10/31), but I had never talked to him before. He’s 32, and went to Korean National University of the Arts (KNUA) for his BA (his major was mask dance drama, specifically Goseong Ogwangdae, graduated in 2007) and now he is writing his thesis for his MA (also at KNUA). He’s an 이수자 isuja for Goseong Ogwangdae and also a member of “The Gwangdae” an arts group made up of three of Goseong Ogwangdae’s younger members and four others (all current or former KNUA students). I hope to see one of their performances, but I guess they aren’t performing again until next year (the heavy performance season has ended now that outdoor performances are pretty unpleasant and luring people out of their homes for an indoor performance is harder).

The first class was for four fourth year students, but only two showed up. The two, a man and a woman, were both majors in 풍물 pungmul, but the man had actually learned and performed with 양주별산대 Yangju Byeolsandae and intended to become a regular member of their preservation association after graduation. He was also heavily involved with 평택농악 Pyeongtaek Nongak and registered as a 전수자 jeonsuja (the step below isuja, the same rank I have for 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli) with that group. Personally I find 임실필봉농악 Imshil Pilbong Nongak more interesting, but both have their interesting points. The woman is part of a ten member all female pungmul performing team, five of the members are from KNUA. Both students told me they hadn’t thought much about future careers or anything, they’d chosen KNUA because they were into the arts and thought the opportunity to learn so many different art forms from such excellent professors was really too special to pass up.

The class started and went directly into motion; there was no period of lecture or discussion of ideas and concepts. I will have to also observe Hwang Jong-uk teaching to know if that’s normal, but I assume that discussions would happen slightly more with him, but be more concentrated early in the term. The students learn the basic motions (the set of motions I’m learning at 봉천놀이마당 Bongcheon Noli Madang) in the first term, this is the second term of the Korean school year. They are now learning (in the Goseong Ogwangdae class) both 원양반 Won Yangban and 말뚝이 Malddugi as an established set of motions that could be danced as an independent perhaps five minute dance solo. I believe they learned the former for the midterm exam and are learning the latter for their final. I believe that the motion set was developed by the preservation association and is used at Bongcheon Noli Madang, too, but what I’ve seen there is only the basic motions and a little rehearsal of Won Yangban, so I won’t know with certainty until later. While I was observing they were practicing Malddugi. Changyeol led them through the motions multiple times, counting, but often substituting a description or a sound for a number, there would be more numbers when he thought they had it right and certain more difficult parts would get more description. So he’d say “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 힘있게” or “크게 하늘 1, 뒤로 헛”. He often inserted accent sounds to sort of draw attention to where the motion should be more particular. After he’d they’d rehearsed without a break for twenty minutes they took their first break, breathing hard and opening the door to the just above freezing air. “If you know the steps you really need to start paying attention to where your head turns and your eyes go, you need to turn your head to follow the motion, not just see your hands in your peripheral vision.” He instructs them. “The motions have to reflect the character, malddugi is energetic, his motions are big.” After ten more minutes of practice they rest again, and then Changyeol plays 장구 janggu while the other two dance first together and then one by one to check their motions. When they rest Changyeol goes to each and shows what parts they need to really think about, emphasizing areas they weren’t quite getting. Mostly he just corrects the male student, whether it’s because he has a more sincere mask dance interest, or because his mistakes are easier to correct, I’m not sure. Both look good, although the woman’s motions are not masculine enough for the character.

They take another break and we talk more. Changyeol is from Goseong, and he started in his first year of high school, so he’s in his fifteenth year of practicing the art. He went to another school for a year or two before he came to KNUA, doing his mandatory military service in between the two schools. The female student wants to teach drumming privately, not in a school setting. The conversation turns to who can make a lot of money in traditional arts, they agree that if you work for the 국악원 National Gugak Center (formerly called the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts), you can make a lot, partially because of what they give you, and partially because of what you can charge for lessons. (Side note: I have seen a lot of crappy practically lifeless performances by those National Gugak Center folks). The conversation then turned to the 원형 wonhyeong, the original form (a type of archetype) that all traditional performances of government registered arts must conform to (if the preservation association members are performing—if you’re just a club, presumably you can do what you want). Changyeol finds it troublesome and supports the creation of new work (using traditional performance vocabulary) and to some extent, fusion. He specified that the wonhyeong is a particularly large problem for the performances with 대사 daesa (scripts) because the Korean used in the daesa is no longer easily comprehensible. The three agreed that even if you make a really good performance, becoming well known or making money off it is a bit like winning the lottery. You keep buying tickets (making new shows, performing) in hopes someday your numbers will come up.

After class Changyeol and I went to an excellent little restaurant for lunch then we returned for the second year students’ class. I was actually surprised by how big the difference was between the 4th and 2nd year students. I learned that all the students in the 연희과 Department of Korean Traditional Dramatic Performing Arts (KNUA’s translation) take 봉산탈춤 Bongsan Talchum as first year students, then Goseong Ogwangdae, then third year is Yangju Byeolsandae and then fourth year they have to study all three (or just two?) again and prepare for some sort of performance-based graduation exam. Changyeol says that many students who are not majoring in mask dance feel like it’s a waste of time, that they’d rather just be working on their major (Namsadang, Shamanic Ritual, Pungmul and Mask Dance are the four majors so far as I know). The majority of students are majoring in pungmul. In the class of the second years, on the day that I came to class there were 12 students (two were too sick to participate but this being Korea they still came to class to look miserable and not be marked absent) two were shamanic ritual students, the rest were pungmul, but about three students were absent (each year has 15 students or so in the department). Amongst those at least one was a mask dancer.

The students will have their exam in the malddugi motions next week, as they were repeatedly reminded. They needed to be reminded though, many (the majority) had to look at other students or at Changyeol in order to move through the motion set, they hadn’t memorized it. At least one of those students was still hardly able to follow along. Changyeol teaches them motion by motion, slowing way down, in series of motions, then does it at normal speed, followed by a slow motion by motion review of the next section, all the way through the piece. Most of the students are stiff without a hint of the proper flavor, in fact I think some of the other new learners at Bongcheon Noli Madang look more natural. There is one man and one woman that look right, the woman’s motions are even properly masculine in flavor. The students practice repeatedly, in a circle, then facing forward again. The room is large; it could easily fit another 35 students without making it too crowded to do the motions, although at that point it might get harder to see the instructor. They take a rest after 15 minutes (the heaters were turned off after 5), a girl asks a question and another follows her, and Changyeol demonstrates some movements again.

Changyeol and I chatted while he took a quick rest, and he explained that the key here is 열정 passion, and said that clubs (like Bongcheon Noli Madang) have it while these students don’t, but he also emphasized how useful it would be for them to internalize the motions from Goseong Ogwangdae, as these are the types of motions that good pungmul players are making at the same time as they are playing (he demonstrates how the arm motions with drum sticks in the hands and a janggu strapped to the body look if they move as in Goseong Ogwangdae, or how much better 소고춤 sogo dance is if the dancer can move with the accents of Goseong Ogwangdae. He’s completely right. I know good players use these motions. But, Changyeol says, most students come to the university fired up about their own major and it takes a few years to realize the benefit they get from complimentary studies of other folk arts. Ironically he noted that most of the students from mask dance dramas, like him, are very excited to get to study pungmul, too. One more thing about student attitudes- apparently some students who are there for mask dance don’t like studying all the other mask dance dramas, they just want to study and practice their own drama. It cracked me up that later in the day seeing Wonjung at Bongsan Talchum class I told him what I’d learned about how he’d study Goseong Ogwangdae and Yangju Byeolsande and his immediate response was that he didn’t want to.

Later in the class he divided them into two groups, but never tried to make them do the motions in groups smaller than five students while he accompanied them on janggu.

Overall the visit and conversation was extremely useful, I had tons of new ideas and thoughts about transmission and I understand the role of KNUA much better than I did before.

I hurried home, ate and changed into exercise clothes and went to Bongsan Talchum. Today was the day that the KTV people were going to start filming. I hoped to arrive before them and practice a little bit so that it would be fresh in my mind when I did it with the cameras rolling, but the crew, two women and a man (with the camera) beat me there. They interviewed 박상운 Bak Sangun and then followed us to class. The class was fairly small, 9 people including the mom and her two kids. Unfortunately despite all the time I spent saying that I wouldn’t do anything fake, Bak Sangun came to teach us, which was sort of a disaster, because he’s never taught us before and we’re trying to adjust in front of the TV cameras. So I got pissed, and he left and we had class like normal. 김은주 Kim Eunju is awesome. I still made mistakes in front of the camera, but they weren’t because of someone else, they were all on me, and that’s fine. 영신 Yeongshin, who I haven’t seen for ages, showed up for class. It was great to dance with him, but most of the others who I can depend on weren’t there, so I really had to be on my toes, because if you start to follow along with someone else who’s making a mistake… anyway, I tried to answer interview questions but the problem was with all the Korean I’d done in the morning, it was as if my Korean was all used up for the day. I felt supremely inarticulate. Finally I told the cameraman that we should give up, because he could interview me on Thursday, too. Of course when I walked them out at the end of the day I was super articulate, but the cameras weren’t rolling and I wasn’t trying to be all academic and proper, but just speaking from the heart.

Songpa Sandae Noli Isuja Practice

November 5th, 2010
In the morning I went to the Korean History class, but I was so exhausted I could pay attention well. I mostly fought falling asleep and didn’t get much out of the class. After class I headed home, but in the evening I was able to go to the 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli special rehearsal for 이수자 isuja. I’m not an isuja, which is generally someone who’s been learning more than ten years and is a well established regular performer, but I try very hard to maintain a very good relationship with everyone in the mask dance group, and was allowed to come in my capacity as a researcher (and didn’t know to what degree I’d be allowed to practice). I did, however, get told to follow along with basic exercises.

I arrived an hour early with a snack to share with 김영숙 Kim Yeongsuk in the office. I gave her a full report on the meeting of the mask dance groups, and then while I was talking others started to arrive and discuss what time to leave for 남원 Namwon where we will be performing in two weeks. 이영순 Yi Yeongsun and I are discussing her helping me a bit with my drumming, as she’s a professional drumming teacher, so we sat together and she explained to me about the differences in the 장단 jangdan or rhythmic patterns used in different mask dance dramas. Songpa uses 타령taryeong a lot but 고성오광대 Goseong Ogwangdae, for example, uses much more 굿거리 gutgeori. I want to not only know this sort of thing well enough to explain it to someone, I want to be able to drum each competently for an on the spot demonstration of what I mean. At the isuja practice there were two musicians (on 장구 janggu and 피리 piri) and seven dancers (not counting myself). Five of the dancers were in modernized hanbok pants, the men were in the matching tops as well.

The practice operated much as other practices do, first everyone practiced the basic motions. When we practice the basic motions one person (a senior person) at the front of the room will call out the name of the next motion as we’re at the end of the previous motion. I find this a bit hard because if I’m at the back of the group, I’m far from the caller, who is near the drum, and some of the names of the motions sound a lot alike… When they call out the motions the motion is called and then the caller uses low form, “gaja” (let’s go) as the ending. Not sure why it’s low form, perhaps just cause it’s shorter, perhaps because it’s not actually directly talking in low form to anyone in particular. After the basic run through, the group began practicing for the next morning’s performance for a different group of elderly (at a different location than the last two performances for elderly). There was a lot of discussion (this seems particularly after seeing the performance of 강릉관노 가면극 Gangneung Gwanno Gamyeon’geuk) of how to reduce speaking and increase the miming in the performances. The discussion centered in large part around where and how to cut out various content to make a satisfying performance. Most groups have ways to adjust their performances to fit the circumstances, and only perform the full versions once a year. Songpa has developed some of this, but perhaps now they feel a need to develop more short-cuts. At any rate as they discussed chopping various bits out of Act 3 (옴중/먹중 놀이) certain members were a bit disturbed (“if you cut out that part, then the character won’t even be Omjung anymore!” one of them said). As they practiced 김영숙 Kim Yeongsuk also packed the bags for the following day’s performance. At one point 탄종원 Tan Jongwon was reading the 대사 daesa off his iphone! I wish I had a good photo of that!

Cell photo of packing the bags:
After running through the basic motions one more time 8 of us head out to dinner, it felt very comfortable all together- no need for alcohol, just sitting down like family to enjoy a meal. These people truly know each other very very well. 양홍기 Yang Hong’gi was one of the people at practice, and he dropped me at 강남 Gangnam since it was on their way home.

Under the Weather

October 5th, 2010
I got more and more sick over the course of the day, climbing back under the covers for about three hours in the afternoon. Nevertheless I went to the 임실필봉농악 서울전수관 Imshil Pilbong Nongak Seoul Training Center and tried to participate in 상모 sangmo class. It costs me 70,000 won per month (2 hours per week of lesson), and I rarely find time to practice outside of class. I practiced a tiny bit, felt horrid, right before class was to begin 이종휘 Yi Jonghui (the instructor and 이수자 Isuja) had 원 중 Won Jung perform his 설장구 Seol Janggu (drumming) and then his mask dance (취발이 Chuibali) solo. I was very surprised at how good Won Jung’s mask dancing actually was. When he practices the 먹중 meokjung or 상좌 sangjwa parts with us I am also practicing, and I never noticed that he had any particular talent. Maybe because he wasn’t concentrating, or because he was exhausted, or because those parts are not what he will be tested on, but his Chuibali was extremely good. A bit extra energetic and not-so-drunk perhaps, but with great emphasis on the motions which were very clear and perfectly executed, and his daesa (dialogue) presentation was excellent. I now feel very hopeful that he will get into the university. Around 8:40 I gave up on sangmo practice because I’d already taken several unauthorized breaks and was totally making an ass out of myself with a lack of coordination caused by a splitting headache (combined with spinning my head, not good).

I came home and the sweetest thing was that Karjam came down the hill and met the bus and had me lean on him to walk me home. He even carried my bags.