Masks play an important role in South Korean society. It has been used for various purposes – from war, funeral to arts.
When war broke out, soldiers and horses put on their masks. In the funeral ceremony, mask is used to remind people of the face of the dead and to defeat evil spirits. In arts, mask is worn for dancing and dramas. On drama stage, mask is used to hide the actor’s identity so they can freely criticize public figures.
Among the many Korean traditional mask, ‘Hahoe’ is the most prominent in South Korea. The name 'Hahoe' comes from the name of the village where the masks were made. Since 1964, ‘Hahoe’ masks have been designated as South Korea’s national treasures and most valuable cultural heritage.
‘Hahoe’ masks are composed of 12 human masks with various roles such as nobleman, aristocrat, grandmother, bride, bachelor and two animal-shaped masks. Each mask has their own unique characteristic that can not be found in other masks. For instance, the nobleman, aristocrat and the butcher masks have separate chins and it functions just like human jaw structure which enables the actors to show their facial expression.
From the 12 masks, the aristocrat or Yangban is considered as the masterpiece of mask art. Yangban represents arrogance as well as peace which can express joyfulness and anger.
In the mask play, every aristocrat has several servants, known as ‘Choraeng-I’ and ‘Imae’. The role of ‘Choraeng-I’ is to mock and insult his Lord. He has a frivolous face with crooked and tight lips. His budging forehead shows that he is very stubborn and often disagrees with the Lord. His short nose indicates impatient nature.
Meanwhile ‘Imae’ masks has no chin. He has a twisted nose and drooping eyes which shows how naive he is. And his smile seems not only little bit stupid but naive.
Next is Grandma or known as ‘Halmi’. Its head is pointing up with chin is jutting toward and has roundly protruded eyes. Then the Monk or ‘Junk’, the eyes look like a crescent moon and there are wrinkles under his eyes.
Last but not least, The Two Animal, It is a symbol of a lion with the feather of pheasant. On stage, it takes the charge of stabilizing and protecting the playing ground from the evil ghosts.
All 'Hahoe' masks are made from alder tree and the produced age is predicted to be around the middle of 'Goryeo' Dynasty (918-1392).
Back then 'Hahoe' masks have been kept in the 'Hahoe' village and were designated as national treasure. Today the masks are well kept in Korea National Central Museum.
(asianhistory.about.com, www.trendkorean.com)
