This study conducts a semiotic examination on Taryeonggwajang of Jeong Jaeman's Seungmu. As a research method, I used Saussure's binary opposition, Greimas' meaning generation model, actor model, and semiotic square. I suggests that the elements of binary opposition are not complete oppositions but are mutually complementary. Seungmu repeatedly uses the actor model in the succession process. In that, the narrative nature of Seungmu is completed. By applying the internal binary opposition elements to the semiotic square, I could expand the scope to the existence of 'non-yin' and 'non-yang' rather than just 'yin' and 'yang'. In the movement analysis, I illuminate that there is no repetition where the beat and movement match, and in the case of the same movement, the movement changes to the left and right direction and the speed of the movement gradually increase. In this way, the analysis of the various meanings and dance movements inherent in Taryeonggwajang could be another interpretive study.

This study is to analyze the movements of Yeombulgwajang, a section in Seungmu, a Korean traditional dance, from a perspective of Greimas’ semiotics. For the analysis of the study, the movement principles of “contraction and expression” and “tying and untying,” which were derived from the philosophies of Yin-Yang and Reincarnation embedded in Seungmu, were discussed through the idea of Greimas’s semiotic square. The relationships between contraction and expression and between tying and untying are deemed to be confrontational; the relationships between expression and untying and between contraction and tying are regarded as hypothetical; the relationships between tying and expression and between contraction and untying are seemed to be contradictory. The meanings of the dance may be formed and interpreted diversely based on the various combinations of these elements. The study contributes to demonstrating a new way of interpreting inherent meanings in Seungmu.

This article explores the philosophy of life contained in Lee Ae-ju’s dance and its theory from a critical perspective. I first discussed the planning intentions of the three works of Lee Ae-ju’s Creative Dance Ttangkkeut, Nanumgut bap, and Balloon Flower, as well as the view of life of her dance. Secondly, the traditional dances of Seungmu, Salpurichum, and Taepyeongchum were explained, and Lee Ae-ju's artistic life and dance worldview were examined. Finally, the meaning and nature of the Lee Ae-ju’s dance, intended to be expressed across traditional and creative dances, were identified and the philosophy of life within it was explored.

An artist who has contributed significantly to the prosperity and development of Korean dance; an innovator who has steered her craft toward opening doors to a new world of creative positivity, Lee Ae-ju was such an artist. While traditional dance of the past and modern forms of creative dance have often been in conflict, Lee’s nationally designated dance has spread its wings defying a century of creative ideology. By adding excitement and style to the rhythm, her art has sublimated dance into a form that embraces rebirth with joy. Through her dance, she gave new life to the creative spark of her field and helped instilling hope for both freedom of expression and democratization.

This study is to find the significance of Seungmu(Buddhist dance) in Han Yeongsuk’s style by analyzing musical and choreographic characteristics of its Dangak movements, which distinguish itself from other styles of the Seungmu, in the light of exhilaration consisting of the basis of Korean culture. By this study, it is achieved to firm the identity of Seungmu in Han Yeongsuk’s style and determine its significance in the history of Korean traditional dance. The following is the result of this study. Firstly, Dangak is the movement that four of very fast three counts consist of one beat, played when a shaman has a dancing ritual for a spirit to possess the shaman in Seoul and Gyeonggi area. Dangak rooted in this shaman music is conservative in that the shaman music is the music for a spirit but at the same time also open and dynamic because it is professional music for audience in performance field. Dangak movements which accompaniment is based on such dynamic shaman music is most likely to bring exhilaration and amusement out by various melodies of performer’s impromptu playing and repetition of rhythm with fast speed and a number of beats. Secondly, in the dance of Dangak, the performance starts primarily with the dance spreading, winding, laying or turning Jangsam(the robe of Buddhist monk) or throwing it over the shoulder. Then performer takes the drumstick out of the robe and beats a drum, holding back the sleeve and dancing each motion with robe and drum harmonized. This can be said a master of dance mingling Jangsam and drum with beauty of balance, which has been developed further from the prior form of dancing that was with only Jangsam or onlydrum beating. As accompanied with such world of Dangak dance, dynamic of Dangak accompaniment with fast speed accelerates the elevating energy generated from the harmony of drum and Jangsam, creating aesthetic performance to sinmyeong(exhilarate). Moreover, it has no diagonal motion but makes the repetitive motions balancing at center, such as moving from center to the front or from the front to the back, so that it has satisfied the requirement to maximize strong and active energy. In other words, various dancing motions balancing at center including stepping forward and backward, turning and taking steps back are fitted with fast rhythm, lifting up the atmosphere of exhilaration gradually. Thirdly, considering Dangak movement of Seungmu in Han Yeongsuk’s style has been evolved into Dangak dance with drum beating and the motions using Jangsam harmonized, it deserves the significance for its unique identity. Furthermore, it is a representative dance as one of the best Korean traditional dances since it has embodied an aesthetic structure arousing exhilaration, the root of Korean culture, with its own composition elevating from slow rhythm of the monotonous rule in traditional music to fast one.

This research analyzes Chun-Heung Kim's Seungmu, which he learnd from Sung-Joon Han, illuminates the world of traditional dance by Chun-Heung Kim, and identifies the legacy of Sung-Joon Han through a comparative analysis between Kim's dance and Young-Sook Han's Seungmu. The results are as follows. According to the comparative analysis of two Seungmu, Chun-Heung Kim's Seungmu is characterized to follow the basic outline of Sung-Joon Han's Seungmu, but its steps are more dynamic and it creates the simple world with artless movement of monk's robe. Thus, folk dance by Chun-Heung Kim through the Seungmu represents the world that are shaped by combination of dynamic exhilaration through steps, the beauty of simplicity of the movement with monk's robe without exaggeration, and the beauty of moderation.

This study analyzes the research trends of seven Korean traditional dances designated as national intangible cultural heritages that are given social values and cultural symbolism as a historical heritage of the country. Research papers were collected by using the seven dances as the search keyword and analyzed through text mining methods. These collected papers investigated frequency analysis, entity name recognition, connection centrality, and N-gram, focusing on their titles and publication years. For the final analysis, 1,043 articles published in academic journals and 1,065 thesis and dissertations in RISS were used.

As a result of the analysis, there is a large difference in the number of papers, depending on what genre an intangible heritage belongs to. It can be also found that research on traditional dances has gradually decreased. Many studies have shown the tendency to concentrate on the interpretation, preservation, and transmission of traditional dances. In the meantime, more studies are being conducted to develop or popularize Korean traditional dances as educational programs and contents.