Carrying tradition forward,
speaking to our time
through dance.

Seungmu (Yi Mae-bang Style)

National Intangible Heritage Seungmu (Yi Mae-bang style) is a refined traditional dance of great dignity. Its drum rhythms, vigorous jangsam sleeve movements, and delicate footwork embody the essence of jeong–jung–dong: stillness, restrained movement, and dynamic motion.

The Yi Mae-bang style is a Honam-form Seungmu rooted in Jeolla Province. Master Ubong Yi Mae-bang learned the dance around 1935 from his grandfather Yi Dae-jo and devoted more than half a century to preserving and refining it into an artistic expression of exceptional beauty.

Buchaechum (Fan Dance)

A representative Korean new-traditional dance. Dancers wear richly decorated jokduri headpieces, jeogori in a dangui style, and deep-pink skirts, holding ornate flower fans while moving to gutgeori and jajinmori rhythms of Changbu-taryeong.

Its beauty lies in the friction sound of opening and closing fans, the arcs created by the fans, the curves of the costumes, the extended lines of the arms, and the fans spinning through the air.

Jindo Bukchum

Originally danced in agrarian communities to lift the spirits of workers, this stage work develops the indigenous drum play handed down in Jindo.

It moves through jajinmori, gutgeori, dongsalpuri, hoseong and other rhythmic cycles. Unlike many regional drum dances, it uses two drumsticks and intricate rhythmic playing, producing a highly detailed, virtuosic and exhilarating dance.

Pungnyu Gain

Pungnyu Gain uses fans and traditional movement to create a calm yet persistent, delicate and wistful flow. The dance contains refined technique and a graceful feminine charm.

Beokkuchum

This dance was staged by Master Seo Han-u from a form of nongak play once practiced on Geumdangdo Island in Wando, Jeollanam-do.

Based on the pangut rhythms of Jeolla Udo Nongak, breath and movement are layered over varied and brilliant rhythmic patterns to form colorful and beautiful dance phrases.

A strap is attached to the beokku and looped around the wrist; the dancer strikes, spins and tosses the drum while dancing.

Taepyeongmu (Kang Sun-young Style)

National Intangible Heritage No. 92, Taepyeongmu prays for peace and prosperity. Dressed as a queen, the dancer embodies the grandeur and splendor of courtly style.

Rhythms such as jinsoe, nakgung, teobeollim and dosalpuri make the structure more complex than many other dances. Rapid rhythmic changes and intricate footwork remain brilliant yet controlled.

Mua Sogochum (Gokkal Sogochum)

In nongak, sogo dance is broadly divided into chaesang-sogo play and gokkal-sogo dance.

The Bok Seong-su style presented here transforms movements such as kkuribuk, eotbuk, mulpugi, saekgyeongbogi and jaegibuk into expressive dance phrases. Jajinmori, jjeokjjeogi, gutgeori (pungnyeongut), dongsalpuri and hwimori rhythms, together with kkwaenggwari, jing, janggo, buk and taepyeongso, release abundant meot and heung.

Jangguchum (Yi Mae-bang Style)

The Yi Mae-bang Jangguchum artistically elevates rhythms and movement derived from seol-janggo dance in nongak into a new-dance lineage.

It combines the heung and sinmyeong of nongak with varied footwork, flexible hand gestures and delicately differentiated janggo rhythms. This presentation is a concise reconstruction of the Yi Mae-bang style.

Ipchum (Yi Mae-bang Style)

Unlike many other forms of Ipchum, the Yi Mae-bang style is performed bare-handed and is structured entirely in gutgeori rhythm to Seongjupuri music. Its refined, virtuosic, wistful and subtly sensual movements preserve the distinctive flavor of Honam gisaeng arts.