Gangneung Nongak (Farmers’ Performance of Gangneung)

Gangneung Nongak is one of the representative forms of Yeongdong Nongak, handed down east of the Taebaeksan mountain range in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province; because it includes a nongsapuri section reenacting farming life, it is also called Nongsapuri Nongak. There is no precise record of its origin, but it is presumed to have arisen with the beginning of agricultural life. Gangneung Nongak is made up of a farmers' banner, a swaenap (a reed pipe, also called nallari), kkwaenggwari, jing, buk, janggu, sogo (small hand drum), beopgo (a small drum used in Buddhist rites) and mudong (young boy dancers). The performers wear white trousers and jackets with sashes in three colours - red, blue and yellow - while the mudong wear clothing of mixed colours. Gangneung Nongak includes Jisinbapgi, in which the band visits every house over three to four days around the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, performing music and rites for each household; Geollip Nongak, performed by a fundraising troupe to collect communal village funds; Gimmae Nongak, performed during rice planting and weeding; Jilmeokgi, held after weeding is finished; and Madanggut, performed in a large open space during a geollipgut or a spring hwajeon (slash-and-burn field) outing. Distinctive elements not found in other regions include Dalmaji-gut (making wishes to the moon), a torchlight play, and Notdaribapgi (in which young women choose one among them to walk across their linked backs); it is also characterized by the communal-labour (dure) nongak forms of Gimmae Nongak, Jilmeokgi and Gillori Nongak (street procession music). Centred on group performance, Gangneung Nongak plays an important role in helping villagers forget the hardships of farm work and in fostering mutual harmony and village unity.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gangneung, Gangwon

Designation

National Intangible Heritage · 국가무형유산