Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Masks, Jjim Dak and Andong Folk Village

Masks, Jjim Dak and Andong Folk Village

The Hahoe Mask Museum and Village

Sweet 18 was a drama starring Lee Dong Gun and Han Ji Hye telling a love story of a prosecutor in Seoul from a yangban clan and was bound to marry then high school student, Han Ji hye. 
The Hahoe Mask Village
Queen Elizabeth II of England
The story’s setting was in Seoul and in Andong. Upon arrival in Seoul, I asked the driver where Andong is so that I can visit it but he told me it was so far from Seoul. 

On our way to Andong
With Father's Melanio and Fr. Michael
I did not believe him until I actually went there with our very loving chaplain, Fr. Melanio. It took us a four hour journey by private car but it was worth it!

With all the Korean Volunteers
Andong is a city in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, South Korea. It is the largest city in the northern part of the province with a population of 167,821 in October 2010.
 The Nakdong Riverflows through the city. Andong is a market centre for the surrounding agricultural areas.
Since the 1970s Andong has developed rapidly, although the population has fallen by nearly seventy thousand as people have moved away to Seoul and other urban centers. In the late 1990s and early 2000s it became a tourism and cultural centre.

Andong is known as a centre of culture and folk traditions. The surrounding area maintains many ancient traditions, so in mid October the Andong Folk Festival is held every year. One of the most famous aspects of these cultural festivities is the Andong masks.
At a Hanuk
Around 1 BC, Andong was founded by the Jinhan people, and it was known as Gochang. During the Three Kingdoms period, the area was controlled by the Silla kingdom. The Battle of Gochang in 930 was fought here between Hubaekje forces and the Goryeo army led by Wanggeon, who won control of the city and renamed it Andong.

After the ascent of the Joseon dynasty to the throne of Korea, Andong became a centre of Confucianism. The area was extremely conservative for a long time and produced many leading confucian scholars. Toe-gye Yi Hwang (1501–70), one of the most prominent of all Korean scholars, came from Andong. 
Yi Hwang retired back to his homeland late in life and started the establishment of the great Confucian academy Dosan Seowon there, which was finished after his death. During this period Andong and its principal families were influential within Korean political circles, including, but not limited to, Andong Kim, Andong Jo, Andong Kwon and Andong's Pungsan Hong clans.
After the 16th century Andong became less influential until the early 19th century, when a marriage of the local Kim family resulted in strong influence on the royal family.
Andong was the site of intense fighting during the Korean War in the early 1950s, the Battle of Andong. Although the city was almost destroyed, it was quickly rebuilt. In 1976 the Andong Dam was built, providing the city with a reliable source of electricity.
In 1999, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom celebrated her 73rd birthday in the city.
 There is an exhibit dedicated to this historic visit at Hahoe folk village museum . Andong Soju is considered one of Korea's finer sojus.

Andong has famous local foods that originated in the city such as heotjesabap, Andong jjimdak, Andong soju (a rice wine), Andong sikhye (a punch), Geonjin guksu (a noodle dish).
Heotjesabap is a variety of bibimbap, served with soy sauce (ganjang) instead of the gochujang (hot pepper paste) that is more commonly used.Heotjesa bab consists of mainly several types of namul (young sprouted vegetables) over white rice. It is also served with grilled fish and somejeon (Korean pancake). The dish originated in Andong. The term, Heotjesa bap literally means "dishes for fake jesa" that are ceremonies fordeath anniversary and ancestor veneration held in Korea.
Andong jjimdak is a variety of jjim (a Korean steamed or boiled dish), made with chicken, various vegetables marinated in a ganjang (Korean soy sauce) based sauce. The name literally means "steamed chicken of Andong." There are many speculations on the origin of the dish. Some said that it originated from the rich village of Andong during the Joseon period, prepared and eaten for special occasions. Another assumption is that during the 1980s in the Dak golmok (닭골목, literally "chicken alley") of the "Andong Old Market," restaurant owners there made a dish including ingredients that regulars demanded, which became the current Andong jjimdak. The most plausible speculation among existing assumptions is that merchants of the Dak golmok at the market created the dish to keep their position against the rapid expansion of Western fried chicken shops.
The Hahoe Folk Village is a traditional village from the Joseon Dynasty. The village is a valuable part of Korean culture because it preserves Joseon period-style architecture, folk traditions, valuable books, and old tradition of clan-based villages.
The village is located in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do. To the north of the village is Buyongdae Cliff while Mt. Namsan lies to the south. The village is organized around the geomantic guidelines of pungsu and so the village has the shape of a lotus flower or two interlocking comma shapes.
The village is listed by the South Korean government with UNESCO as a World Heritage site with Yangdong Folk Village in 2010.


History

The Yu clan of Pungsan established the Hahoe Folk Village in the 16th century during the Joseon Dynasty and has been a one-clan community since that time. The village is notable because it has preserved many of its original structures, such as the village Confucian school and other buildings, and maintains folk arts such as the Hahoe Mask Dance Drama ('Byeonlsin-gut') which is a shamanist rite honoring the communal spirits of the village.
The village today is divided into Namchon (South Village) and Pukchon (North Village) with the main branch of the Pungsan Yu clan, the Gyeomampa, in the Namchon side and the secondary branch, the Seoaepa, descended from Yu Seong-ryong a noted prime minister during the reign of King Seonjo of Joseon in the Bukchon side. The north village contains Yangjindang Manor, designated as Treasure No. 306, and Pikchondaek House, designated Important Folklore Material No. 84. The south village contains Chunghyodang Manor, designated as Treasure No. 414 and Namchondaek House, an Important Folklore Material No. 90. While each branch of the Pungsan Yu clan used lived in their respective manor homes and sides, today both branches have live throughout the village.
The village maintains old architectural styles that have been lost because of rapid modernization and development in South Korea. Aristocratic tile-roofed residences and thatched-roof servants' homes preserve the architectural styles of the Joseon Dynasty. Wonjijeongsa Pavilion and Byeongsan Confucian School are two notable structures in the village. The village has preserved the shamanist rite of Byeolsin-gut and preserved Hahoe masks used in the Hahoe Mask Dance. Another rite still practiced is the Jeulbul Nori which uses strings of fireworks fired at the base of the Buyongdae Cliff. Yongmogak Shrine houses Yu Seong-ryong's collection of books and includes National Treasure No. 132 Chingbirok, a book which records the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592. Treasure No. 160, Kunmundungok, is a record of the military encampments. Chunghyodang also holds 231 royal writs of appointment.

 more photos can be found at this album: http://mjse.multiply.com/photos/album/231/ANDONG_TOUR

No comments:

Post a Comment