The Cultural Heritage Administration selected ‘mask dance of Korea’ as its 2020 nomination for UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during a joint meeting of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee and the World Heritage Division of the Cultural Heritage Committee, which was held on 6 December 2019. Regarding the nomination, the International Mask Arts & Culture Organization (IMACO) held a research presentation and an international academic symposium on 20 and 21 December in collaboration with Andong City, Korea. Here, ‘mask dance of Korea’ refers to a kind of drama performed while wearing masks with different local features. It is a comprehensive folk art that encompasses a variety of elements, including singing, dance, dramatic content, and costumes. Korean mask dance is a novel form of expressing the thoughts and feelings of the people, and it truly mesmerizes the audience with diverse characters and dance moves. Traditionally, Korean mask dances helped people express their suppressed feelings and satire. Different types of mask dance drama have been transmitted nationwide. Among them, in particular, are Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori of Andong, Byeolsingut Talnori of Gangneung, Songpa Sandae Nori and Yangju Byeolsandae Nori of Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, Haeseo of Hwanghae-do (incl. Bongsan, Gangnyeong, Eunyul), and Yayu and Ogwangdae of the east and west areas of Nakdong River. The mask dance was a representative folk culture of the late Joseon period in Korea, along with pansori, a traditional form of musical storytelling. Mask dances hold great artistic significance and value in Korea’s traditional community, as it relates to the minds of the people through its theatrical and entertaining aspects while also functioning as a medium for social criticism. Until now, thirteen mask dance elements have been listed as national intangible cultural heritage and four others have been listed as city/provincial intangible cultural heritage. The Cultural Heritage Administration is planning to submit the nomination file on Korean mask dance to UNESCO by the end of March 2020. The nomination will be decided during the seventeenth session of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee to be held in 2022. Meanwhile, a special exhibition titled “In High Spirit, Away From Sorrows: Traditional Korea Mask Dance Drama” is being held at the National Intangible Heritage Center located in Jeonju, Korea. The exhibition presents the history of traditional masks and mask dance as well as five traditional masks known as hahoe-tal, the oldest mask dance tradition in Korea. The exhibition will be running until 23 February 2020. For more information, please visit the website. Photo : Korean Mask Dance ⓒ shutterstock

Masks and mask dance exist through which they try to realize equality and be free from judgement, allowing you to express yourself as an equal in society regardless of class. The mask dance festival starts on the last Friday of September and lasts for ten days, and over a million people visit domestically and internationally. It has garnered attention from world leaders. Queen Elizabeth II of the UK, George H. Bush and George W. Bush of the USA, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and other influential leaders have attended. The festival is about mixing modernity with tradition coming together, creating a mosaic of different colors and cultural significance. They use the mask dance festival as a collaborative tool that can bring various cultures together. The mask dance festival also plays a large role in transmitting the heritage to younger generations through various associations that function as a network.

The Andong region has many highly renowned historic and cultural sites, such as Hahoe Village, however, the major cultural attraction of the region is the Andong International Mask Dance Festival.

Moderator to Participants: The participants commonly addressed intangible cultural heritage festivals’ influence and effects on local communities. Safeguarding local intangible cultural heritage is very important, and ICH festivals are key cultural events for celebrating world ICH and have had a positive effect on economic tourism as well as the social and cultural sectors of the governments hosting them. Today, for all speakers, why is community participation is important in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage? You answered that communities play an important role in production and safeguarding as well as the maintenance and recreation of the ICH. Then you also raised the question, how to strengthen the role of communities? You have answered that groups and individuals concerned should be encouraged to help them safeguard intangible cultural heritage. I would like to suggest a small question to all of you. Local community engagement is very important; however, to encourage local communities to engage in cultural heritage, there may be tasks and challenges, for example how to raise awareness of those issues and how to set priorities and draw attention. As far as the central government we need to consider how to get over dependency for financial support and how to build strategic relationships and partnerships with international institutions and communities. In sum, I am asking to facilitate local communities’ engagement in intangible cultural heritage. What would be the major challenges?