Artifacts of Peddlers

Goryeongsangmusa is the name given to a Joseon-period branch of an itinerant peddlers' association (bobusang) that controlled the trade around Goryeong market in North Gyeongsang Province. Each year, in the first month of the lunar calendar, the Jwasagye (Left Society) held a general assembly at which a new bansu (guild head) and jeopjang (deputy head) were elected for a one-year term. A grand memorial rite was then held, with ritual offerings set out before the spirit tablets of 140 former bansu and jeopjang who had passed away. Villagers held a festival with farmers' band music, including jisinbapgi (a ground-treading rite to bless the neighbouring villages), to honour the virtues of earlier peddlers. This area lies close to the Nakdonggang River, so salt, fish and other goods were traded by boat. The soil here was also known to be ideal for porcelain production, and large quantities of ware were made. The Goryeongsangmusa was the body that organised the distribution of these goods. The Bansu-jeopjang Myeongdan (Register of Bansu and Jeopjang) is a list of those who served as bansu and jeopjang of the Usasanggye (Right Society).

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Where it is

Region

Goryeong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산