Talchum Mask Dance

Talchum is village theatre performed in carved wooden and lacquered paper masks, with drums, a small wind band and a great deal of shouting. The plots repeat across regions: an aristocrat is humiliated by his own servant, a monk breaks his vows, an old wife and a young concubine fight, and everyone ends up dancing. It was played on festival nights by ordinary people to an audience standing in a ring, and the improvised jokes changed with whoever was in the crowd. Several regional forms survive, the Hahoe rite near Andong among them, and the tradition is listed by UNESCO as intangible heritage.

What you actually see

• The masks - carved alder and lacquered paper, exaggerated and deliberately lopsided.
• The yangban scenes - the aristocrat taken apart by his servant, the oldest joke in the repertoire.
• The band - drums, gong and the piercing double-reed taepyeongso.
• The closing dance - performers pulling spectators into the ring.

When to go

The Andong festival runs for about ten days from late September into early October, when most troupes appear in one place. Outside it, Hahoe village stages the local mask play on a regular schedule in the warmer months. Evening performances have the better atmosphere. Andong fills up during the festival, so book a bed early.

Honest expectations

The comedy is verbal and old, and without Korean or a guide you follow the physical gags only. Performances run long, outdoors, on hard seating or standing, in weather that can turn. Andong during the festival is packed and room rates rise accordingly. Mask shops sell mass-produced souvenirs with little relation to the carved originals.

Nearby

Hahoe village and the Dosan academy lie outside Andong, a town known for salted mackerel and steamed chicken.