Press Release Source Andong City
Dept. of Culture & Tourism
Contact Tel: 054-840-6393
Fax: 054-840-6399

Andong Mask Dance Festival 2006
Best Korean Festival for 5 Straight Years

“Yangban’s Elegance & Exuberance”
September 29-October 8
Mask Dance Park & Hahoe village

The Andong Mask Dance Festival, selected by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as the Best Tourism Festival, is held annually in Andong, aka. “The Intellectual and Moral Capital of Korea.” This year, the festival runs from September 29 through October 8, with events planned in the Mask Dance Park and Hahoe Village.
The 2006 program is placed under the theme “Yangban’s Elegance and Exuberance,” and will offer to the public some 270 events in addition to performances of Andong’s famous mask dance.

Renowned dance troupes from 15 countries around the world are scheduled to be in attendance, along with 13 major Korean mask dance troupes, all designated intangible cultural heritages.

In the spirit of a street festival, all manner of masks will be on-site for visitors to wear and dance along. Also on the program, a mask contest, in which festival participants can exercise their imagination and craftsmanship and present their handiwork.
The Andong Folk Festival, which will run concurrently with the mask dance festival, is to feature 30 varieties of folk games and music, including chajeonnori (a mock battle), notdaribalggi (a human bridge) and handusilhaengsangsori (a funeral chant) and jeojeonjongyo.

A Program Chock-full of Tastes of Traditional Cultures
The festival’s goal being to offer a wholesome initiation into Andong’s cultural heritage, a full dance repertoire that has originated and developed in the region will be performed, including hahoebyeolsingut, along with a wealth of other traditional activities.
Some other highlights of this fun-filled program: a folk music and dance contest, dance-along initiation into the world of mask dance, rice paper workshop, mask rubbing making and a reenactment of traditional wedding ceremony.

A Privileged Window to Korea’s Culture and History
In recent years, the world is manifesting a newfound respect for Confucianism and the Asian values it has shaped. Andong, cradle of Korean Confucianism, is the one and only region in the world, where the ancient philosophy has remained a living way of life. The world community’s interest in Andong became especially keen following the visit by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in 1999. The shrines, historic homes of clan head families, temples and museums scattered across Andong make this city a rare and privileged window to Korea’s past and its culture.

www.maskdance.com