ABSTRACT

This study examines how and why traditional dance in Korea is conceptualized in a way that diverges from the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Convention of UNESCO. Using literature review and discourse analysis, it analyzes Korean cultural heritage laws and policy documents while critically engaging with theoretical shifts in folklore studies, anthropology, and performance studies that informed the ICH framework. The findings show that the Korean system conceptualizes traditional dance as a formalized performing art of professional practitioners, grounded in a product-oriented paradigm emphasizing historic value, artistry, and superiority. In contrast, the ICH Convention foregrounds a process-oriented paradigm, understanding heritage as community-based practice, transmission, and performance. This divergence produces a structural gap between form-centered and process-centered perspectives of the same dance practices. This study conceptualizes this difference as a tension between “preservation-oriented” and “process-oriented” paradigms, and proposes the necessity of reformulating the dual ontology of the intangibility and tangibility of dance cultural heritage.

This study focuses on the increasing use of street dance programs in local festivals and aims to identify the background of their growth, utilization effects, and future directions based on the experiences and perceptions of street dance professionals. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with eleven experts involved in festival planning, judging, and performance, and the data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding. The findings indicate that the growth of street dance in local festivals was driven by increased media exposure and the development of community-based professional networks. These factors contributed to regional revitalization, audience expansion, broadening the cultural base of street dance, and the formation of compensation structures. However, structural limitations were also identified, including poor performance environments and gaps between festival operation systems and genre-specific expertise, which hinder sustainability. This study demonstrates that street dance functions not merely as performance content but as a participatory cultural resource within local festivals. Furthermore, it highlights the need for stable financial support, collaborative systems with specialized personnel, and long-term operational strategies.

This study explores dance instructors’ perceptions of changes in course culture and the reconstruction of relationship-centered teaching strategies in the context of generational change and digital transformation. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with dance instructors, and the collected data were analyzed through inductive thematic analysis. The findings reveal that dance classes have shifted from authority- and repetition-centered instruction toward a culture emphasizing explanation, fairness, emotional support, and individualized guidance. Students increasingly demand clear rationales for movements, training processes, and evaluation criteria. Instructor authority is established through professional expertise, explanatory competence, trust, and respectful communication. In response, instructors employ question-based teaching, process-oriented feedback, individualized instruction, emotional support, and digital communication channels. The study suggests the need to redefine dance instructors as educational practitioners who coordinate technical instruction, relationships, emotions, communication, and learners’ self-directed growth.

This study aims to examine the value and transmission directions of dances designated as cultural heritage from the Five Northern Provinces (Ibuk 5-do) transmitted in South Korea: Hwagwanmu from Hwanghae Province, Pyeongyang Geommu and Pyeongnam Sugeonnchum from South Pyongan Province, Gim Baekbong's buchaechum (Fan Dance), and Hambuk Seonnyeochum from North Hamgyeong Province. The research research draws primarily on historical literature and institutional materials from the Five Northern Provinces Committee. The study confirms how practitioners transmitters have preserved the cultural heritage of the northern provinces through the Japanese colonial period and national division, and analyzes the artistic, regional, and educational value of each dance. The findings suggests the need for a sustainable transmission system: first, securing transmission records through archiving; second, establishing a systemic framework for research on dance genealogy and related music; third, expanding the designation of new genres and strengthening collaboration within the Five Northern Provinces Committee; and finally, establishing an online platform for the cultural heritage of the Five Northern Provinces. These proposals lay the groundwork for future extension to include other dance genres and yet undesignated cultural heritage.

This study aims to establish the category of Korean traditional dance, in which Korean aesthetic consciousness and spiritual culture are embedded. The purpose is to explore the cultural-historical and policy implications of its inscription on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. By analyzing historical literature and current state of domestic transmission, the study approaches the subject from perspective of ‘typical form [jeonhyeong]’ the intersection of tradition and modern transmission. The results confirm that dance forms redefined as stage arts in the modern era constitute the foundation of contemporary Korean traditional dance Furthermore, UNESCO inscription facilitates the globalization of the identity of Korean arts and shifts the policy paradigm from ‘preservation’ to sustainable ‘transmission and promotion.’ This study is significant in proposing a cultural-historical category for Korean traditional dance and presenting policy recommendations for UNESCO inscription. It serves as a scholarly and policy foundation encompassing both the preservation of archetypal forms and modern re-creation.

This study examines the evolution of modern dance culture amidst the historical tribulations of the colonial era by analyzing dance photographs published in 1920s newspapers. Utilizing a literature review methodology, the research analyzes 317 photographs from Maeil Sinbo (154), Joseon Ilbo [Chosun Ilbo] (93), and Dong-a Ilbo (70). The analysis revealed three key findings. First, the photographs visually corroborate the heteronomous nature of dance culture under colonial rule. Second, they demonstrate the systematic assimilation of Japanese dance into colonial Korea. These images expose an imperialist agenda designed to manage and mobilize the colonized population under the pretext of artistic exchange. Third, despite such oppression, the photographs capture the emergence of a modern and subjective dance culture. This study holds significant value by providing a comprehensive pictorial understanding of the performing arts landscape during the Japanese occupation through the lens of newspaper photography. By re-evaluating these visual archives, the research illuminates the complex interplay between colonial hegemony and the pursuit of modern cultural identity in 1920s Korea.

This study aims to understand the dance culture of the Joseon Dynasty through ‘dance paintings of imagined space’ and ‘dance paintings of folk space’. I used the methods of iconography and literature research. The results of the study are as follows. First, the performers of the dance were diverse, ranging from fairies to religious monks and shamans, entertainers such as gisaeng and sadangpae, dancers, noblemen, and farmers. Second, the background of the dance was mainly a feast. Third, the dance stage was set up outdoors with mats. Fourth, the types of dance were diverse. Fifth, the dance formation was mainly a duet. Sixth, the reason why the dance paintings were abundant is because the Joseon people enjoyed dancing, and dance was a very useful symbol when expressing exciting moments in life. The significance of the study is that the rich dance culture of the Joseon people was confirmed through paintings.

This study analyzes the cultural transformation process of government gisaengs from 1908 to 1945 through a cultural psychological perspective. To this end, various data such as newspapers and magazines at the time were used to examine the cultural change and adaptation patterns of government gisaengs from the socio-cultural and psychological aspects. John W. Berry's theory of cultural transformation provided the theoretical framework, upon which the changes of government gisaengs were categorized into four categories: assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalization. As a result of the study, in assimilation, separation, and integration, models, actors, singers, calligraphy artists, independence activists, parasitic schools, and gwonbeon trained professional artists to form a positive social identity. On the other hand, in the marginalization, a negative phenomenon of experiencing social exclusion and alienation and leading an unstable life appeared. This study will contribute to expanding the understanding of cultural transformation of traditional artists by revealing how the identity of government gisaengs was reconstructed in a cultural psychological manner amid modern changes.

This study aims to analyze the changing aspects of the Cheonan World Dance Festival and explore its future value. The research is conducted by the analysis of records of the dance festival through media such as the Internet and press promotional materials, while focusing on qualitative research based on literature, examining the historical development process of the festival and its current value as a dance festival, and suggesting future direction and strategies for the festival. The Cheonan World Dance Festival started as a general local festival called the ‘Cheonan Semgeori Heungtaeryeong Cultural Festival’ in 1987 and has been renamed as the ‘Cheonan Semgeori Cultural Festival’ in 1990, the ‘Cheonan Heung-taeryeong Festival’ in 2008, and the ‘Cheonan World Dance Festival’ in 2011. It is a representative local dance festival in Korea that has secured the image and identity of Cheonan through content development and title design. ‘Cheonan World Dance Festival’ have been recognized for their values through the preservation and succession of traditional culture, strengthening of regional identity, acceptance of cultural diversity, and their role as a tourism resource for long time. In order to embrace the changing times and be reborn as a world-class festival, however, the Cheonan World Dance Festival should consider modern changes, innovations, and digital transformations while strengthening publicity, expanding participatory programs, developing sustainable operation models, and increasing international exchanges.

This study aims to reconsider the historical and cultural value of Jeonju Daesaseupnori by examining its 50- year history and acknowledge its status and meaning of existence. Accordingly, this paper summarizes the origin and formation process of Jeonju Daesaseupnori, which was revived in 1975, and identifies the way in which it was developed into the largest festival of pansori in the late Joseon Dynasty from various folk martial arts and performances practiced during the reign of King Sukjong. This paper also organizes the cultural value of Jeonju Daesaseupnori into the following five categories: historical, symbolic, community, aesthetic, and sustainability.