Hahoe Mask Museum – Andong Part 5

Autumn or fall is usually a great time to visit SK as there are many festivals celebrated in the harvest season. Unfortunately that’s not turning out to be the case this year. Call them party poopers or responsible leaders but the Korean officials or organizers don’t seem to be taking any chances and have been cancelling festivals, no thanks to the H1N1 scare. The latest victim of this trend in 2009 is the International Mask Dance Festival which Andong hosts each October.

The people of Hahoe are probably the most disappointed as their village is home to Major Intangible Cultural Asset No. 69: Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori ( masked play). It has many functions: to entertain, appease the gods, pray for good harvests, exorcise evil spirits and to mock corrupt officials. Even if there aren’t many tourists to entertain this time, perhaps the masked performers could still perform the talnori to pray that the H1N1 scare will die down rapidly. Or it could satirize the tug of war between KNTO whose efforts to draw more tourists to Korea have been frustrated by the government which has been cancelling one festival after another.

If you’re determined to visit Andong this fall, you can find some consolation in the the Hahoe Mask Museum ( Hahoe-domg Tal). Its quite comprehensive collection has masks from around the world include fierce visages from Papua New Guinea, earthy ones from the African continent and ornately decorated ones from Venice. At least you can see here the wide range of Korean masks used in their folk dances and drama. You can also buy reproductions of masks at the museum gift shop. More explanatory notes in English would’ve been good but I guess the curators preferred to let the masks do the talking.

Source: KNTO webpage http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/GK/cms_list_3157.jsp?cid=682664

Letter for some Jinju ajummas

To the ajummas of Jinju that I met,

This is a long overdue letter to thank you for your warm and spontaneous hospitality. I had arrived at the bus terminal from Daejeon by mid-day in the spring of 2007. The walk to find a yeogwan was some distance away but thankfully, after settling in, it was a short stroll to the fortress. I then spent a good part of the afternoon walking my feet off on the grounds and was getting a little tired when I came across a group of you ladies at a small temple, Hoguksa, near the western end of the fortress.


You were all seated cross-legged on the floor of an annexe surrounded by paper lotus lanterns in various stages of completion. It was apparent that you were volunteers helping to prepare the decorations for the upcoming celebrations for Buddha’s birthday. I remember struggling to find the words to ask if I could join you and pitch in to help a while. Your openness and friendliness made me feel so at ease that I was soon settling down to apply starch to the paper petals and leaves for you to assemble on the wire frames.
Source of pic: http://elizabethbriel.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html

The seonim ( monk) who brought in more boxes of paper lotus petals must have been surprised to see me there - a tourist with a backpack and baseball cap. But you rattled off something to him and it continued to seem like the most natural thing to accept a stranger from another country who couldn’t understand any part of the gossip and chatter going on around her. I wanted to take a photo of us together but I ran out of film and for the umpteenth time wished I had a digital camera.

I also want to thank specially one ajumma who was working as a volunteer in the Jinju National Museum. I learnt that you had also been a tourist in my own country and had even climbed its highest mountain. I was impressed by that but even more touched when you invited me for a meal after I had completed my tour of the museum. Kamsa-ham-nida for introducing me to the delicious Jinju bibimbap in the heart of the marketplace –in a cosy sikdang clearly popular with the locals.

Source of pic: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=404018506&blogId=491528312

Last but not least, go-map-seum-nida as well to another ajumma that I met later on at Boriam, Namhae. You had actually travelled from Jinju to this temple for some special prayers but you also took time to show me the way to Ssanghongmun ( the twin caves). Moreover, without your support and example, I wouldn’t have been able to complete the 108 prostrations – something I once thought was a feat for only the tough and truly devout.

Your city claims to be the most beautiful city in the country. I don’t know how true that is but I can definitely agree that it has some of the most beautiful and gracious ladies in the country! Once again, ajummas of Jinju, thank you so much for making my visit to Korea so memorable and heart-warming.

Sincerely,
An ajumma who visited Korea