The earliest reliable account of the masked dance is found in the "History of the Three Kingdoms," which states that three types of puppet shows were performed in the ninth century, during the era of the unification of Silla. The History of Goryeo shows that puppet theater continued to be performed in the Goryeo era, and the book mentions that among the types of plays performed in the 31st year of King Gojong's reign (1244) was masked theater. During the Joseon Kingdom era, an official position was established to manage the performance of masked plays, and as a result, masked plays developed greatly, and the performance of masked plays became an official activity of the court. However, in 1634, this official position was abolished and the masquerade was turned over to the commoners. Masked dramas are divided into four categories, three of which are named according to the place where they are performed.
Sandai Masked Drama
Of the four types of masked drama, the most famous is the Sandai drama. The Yamadai plays were named after the name of the royal official in charge of the masquerade. There are ten acts and thirteen scenes, and they are named after the main characters in each act and scene. For example, the first act is "The Elder". The second act is "The Pocky Monk". The third act is "The Monk with the Black Face". Act IV is "dry-eyed monk", and so on and so forth. Like the "puppet" puppet theater, the content of santai drama is also a typical triangular relationship between two classes and their wives and concubines. Sangdae dramas satirized the aristocrats of the Joseon dynasty and mocked the apostate monks.
Sandai dramas are performed exclusively by male actors who act and dance to the accompaniment of traditional Korean drums, stringed instruments, and official instruments that play tunes based on folk songs, Buddhist chants, and shamanistic prayers. The santai drama also has a puppet and a set of 24 masks, with each actor wearing one mask. Shantai plays are performed on a temporary open-air stage in the village square on holidays, such as the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, or on days when shamanism prays for rain. This kind of play starts after sunset and continues until late at night.
This uniquely Korean theater has largely lost popular support. Only one troupe in a village in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, still performs it. A troupe was organized in Seoul about 90 years ago and became the only authentic performer of modern Korean santae, but after 50 years, the troupe was disbanded. With government support, the play was revived and designated as an intangible cultural property of the nation.
Haesi Mask Drama
Haesi Mask Drama is also performed on the Dragon Boat Festival in the Haesu area of Hwanghae Province in the north. Its origin cannot be traced, but it is believed to have been created at about the same time as the santai drama. It is a seven-act play. The roles vary slightly depending on the place of performance, but the overall roles are almost the same as those of puppet plays and santai plays.
Hahoe Mask Drama
Hahoe Drama in the Hahoe area of Gyeongsangbuk-do is performed on the second day of the first month of the lunar calendar when the village celebrates a festival. According to village elders, the origins of this kind of drama can be traced back to more than 500 years ago.
The first two types of masquerade dramas were performed for public entertainment. Unlike this case, the purpose of the river return play is to appease the souls of two deceased women who are believed to possess latent magical powers that affect this village. This masquerade is part of the rituals performed in this village to rid it of evil spirits.
Gokdae Masked Play
The fourth type of masked play is found in Gyeongsangnam-do, and is a type of skillful play called "Gokdae play" (a play of five clowns). These clowns are obviously the "five generals," that is, the generals who guard the positions of the north, south, east, west and center. The play is performed on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar by village amateurs under the guidance of village elders who are well versed in theater,
Korean Mask Dance
The Mask Dance is a male dance performed by the Korean people wearing masks. Its performance combines the art forms of chanting, dialoging, dancing and so on, and has a dramatic character. Mask dance is mostly used to express satirical contents with lively and humorous plots. It is performed in 7 acts and 12 scenes, and each act has its own content. Nowadays, some of the episodes and movements are taken and performed on festivals and other entertainment occasions. The rhythms of the dance are "Ta-ling" and "Gu-goli". It is accompanied by xiao, flute, drums, long drums and sanxian.
Editing Bongsan Mask Dance
Bongsan Mask Dance evolved from the Mask Game that was passed down in Bongsan, North Hwanghae Province. It was first danced on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, then on the Dragon Boat Festival, and flourished from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century as an art form of scripted folklore theater. There are more than 30 kinds of masks in Fengshan Mask Dance, such as figures and animals like lions and apes, and there are Walker Dance, Wrist Dance, Dharma Drum Dance, Love Dance, Elderly Monk Dance, Two Classes Dance, Predator's God General Dance, Sassy Witch Dance, and Nanki Elder Dance, etc. The dance is performed by four men in white long-wearing clothes. The Walker Dance is a dance performed by four people dressed as young monks in white shirts, red robes, and tall hats to satirize the young monks who are dishonest and do not recite the sutras in the temple, but go to the streets to dance for fun. The dancers of the wrist dance are eight people dressed as black-shirted monks. They wear hideous red masks and dance in a combination of solo and group dances. The Dharma Drum Dance is an impromptu dance between the eight black-shirted monks who have retired from the stage, carrying long drums and gongs, and the female performers who have come out to dance. The Love Dance is an impromptu dance between a female performer in a red dress and green jacket and the black-shirted monks wearing a mask, a hat, and a kanji. The Old Monk's Dance, the Two Classes Dance, the Thief General's Dance, and the Sassy Witch's Dance are performances that expose the corruption and ugliness of the monks and satirize the depravity of the two classes of bureaucrats. The Fengshan Mask Dance reflects to some extent the lives and hearts of the common people who suffered in the corrupt feudal society.
The Mask Dance is a male dance with dramatic conflicts, which is circulated in Yanbian area of Jilin. In addition to wearing a mask, it also includes mask dances performed in various kinds of false costumes, such as the crane dance and the lion dance. There are many kinds of traditional Korean mask dances, and the ones that have been passed down to this day include the Bakmusang Dance of the Bongsan Mask Dance, the Shetang Dance, the Laojang Dance, the Slut Dance, and the Little Daughter Dance, etc. These popular folk dances are mostly performed by the Korean people. These popular folk mask dances integrate chanting, dialogue and dance, and perform some humorous and satirical stories in separate scenes. However, there are not many people who know this dance, but in the 1950's and 1960's, the Korean folk dancers organized and taught the dance so that it could be handed down and developed. The current performance is a one-man dance, in which the dancer wears the costume of "Moksang" with a peach branch at the back of the waist and a one-sided mask of "Moksang" painted on cardboard. The mask is exaggerated, and the top is decorated with red, yellow and white spikes, and when the head is tilted, the spikes can cover the face to enhance the artistic effect. In the performance, there are "bright face", "turn face", "shake face", "face up", "swinging face" and other different mask shapes, as well as "fluttering sleeves", "rowing sleeves", "around the sleeve" and other actions.