'Songpa Talchum Festival' to be Held This Weekend

This Weekend 'Songpa Talchum Festival' Held... Inviting Nationwide National Intangible Cultural Heritage Mask Dance Performances Registered with UNESCO Including ‘Songpa Sandae Nori’

From the 20th to 21st, Nationwide Mask Dance Festival at Seoul Nori Madang in Songpa-gu ▲Andong ‘Hahoe Byeolsin Gut Talnori’ ▲Busan ‘Suyeong Yaryu’

▲Bukcheong Lion Play ▲Songpa Sandae Nori

Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced that it will hold the "Songpa Talchum Festival" for two days from the 20th to 21st at Seoul Nori Madang to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the designation of Songpa Sandae Nori as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Songpa-gu possesses the traditional mask play ‘Songpa Sandae Nori’ which has been passed down for 250 years, and ‘Songpa Sandae Nori’ was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity last year, helping to promote our traditional culture to the world.

Accordingly, the district planned the 'Songpa Talchum Festival' by inviting major national intangible cultural heritage mask dance performances from across the country registered with UNESCO, including ‘Songpa Sandae Nori’, so that visitors can experience nationwide mask play performances that are usually difficult to access all in one place.

From 3 PM on the 20th, starting with ▲‘Gilnori’ by the Songpa Folk Preservation Society, performances of ▲‘Hahoe Byeolsin Gut Talnori’ passed down in the Andong region, ▲Busan’s ‘Suyeong Yaryu’, and ▲‘Eunyul Talchum’ from the Eunyul region of Hwanghae Province will be held,

Yangju Byeolsandae Nori

From 3 PM on the 21st, visitors can enjoy mask dance performances that humorously depict the satirical social hierarchy and the hardships of the common people, including ▲‘Yangju Byeolsandae Nori’, ▲‘Bukcheong Lion Play’ performed in Bukcheong County, Hamgyeongnam-do during the first full moon of the lunar year, ▲‘Gangneung Gwanno Mask Play’, and ▲‘Songpa Sandae Nori’ which was performed centered around the Songpa marketplace.

The performances will continue for two days from 3 PM to 5 PM, with each performance lasting 30 minutes. Admission is free.

In addition, to help people feel closer to Korea’s traditional culture of ‘Talchum’, experience programs are also prepared. From the 20th to 21st, from 10 AM to 5 PM, there will be ▲Songpa Sandae Nori mask-making experience ▲flower shoes and hanji lantern making ▲silkscreen eco bag making, and ▲traditional yard games such as Tuho and Yutnori experience zones.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “‘Songpa Sandae Nori’, which has been performed at the Songpa marketplace for 250 years, is the only mask dance tradition preserved in the Seoul area and is a proud cultural heritage of Songpa-gu recognized worldwide.” He added, “We hope many people will come to the 'Songpa Talchum Festival' prepared to widely promote and inherit this tradition, enjoy mask dance performances from various regions across the country, and also feel the lives and humor of our ancestors.”