Songpa Bridge-treading

Dari-balgi (bridge-treading) is a game performed on Daeboreum, the first full moon of the lunar year, and stems from the folk belief that treading a bridge over a stream as many times as one's age prevents leg ailments, wards off misfortune and brings good fortune. The strong Korean belief that bridge-treading prevents leg trouble arises because dari (脚, "leg") and dari (橋, "bridge") are pronounced the same, a piece of folk belief that appears to rest on this wordplay. Bridge-treading is also called dapgyo or dapgyo-nori, and in the Gangneung region dari-ppaeatgi ("bridge-snatching"). The game was enjoyed by everyone from the yangban aristocracy to commoners, and records that even the capital's four great gates were left open during bridge-treading show how highly it was regarded. As the old capital had only a few bridges, crowds grew congested there; the yangban, reluctant to mingle with commoners, trod the bridges the evening before, on the 14th, in what was called yangban dari-balgi, while women trod them on the evening of the 16th. What began as groups singing and dancing while treading bridges together, as an entertainment amid the crowds, gradually changed in character as separate performing troupes formed and it took on a more theatrical quality. Among such traditions, Songpa Bridge-treading is distinguished by its outstanding song and dance. Bridge-treading has been practised since the Goryeo period and is a representative Korean folk game, carrying within it the everyday feelings of the Korean people.

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Where it is

Region

Songpa-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Intangible Heritage · 시도무형유산