Seoul Bukchon Culture Center Hosts Bukchon Culture Day Event... Featuring 'Narye' Ceremony and More

Various On-site and Online Programs Including Outdoor Exhibitions, Hands-on Experiences, Online Performances, and Nuri Magazines

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City and Munhwa Daum announced on the 18th that from the 21st, they will hold the August Bukchon Culture Day event for four weeks, where visitors can experience the artistry and wit embedded in our folk culture, such as Narye (儺禮, a ritual performed in folk and royal households to drive away evil spirits).

This event features both in-person and online programs including outdoor exhibitions and hands-on experiences based on our folk culture that wishes for warding off misfortune and praying for well-being, as well as the Nuri Magazine (webzine) and online performances.

The outdoor exhibition involves various artists spanning traditional and modern fields such as mask sculptors, dancheong (traditional multicolored paintwork) technicians, illustrators, and stage directors, who present diverse works that add a contemporary sensibility to the mysteriousness contained in our folk culture. The exhibition is open to all citizens visiting the Bukchon Culture Center from August 21 to September 5.

During the event period, every Saturday, visitors to the Bukchon Culture Center can participate in activities such as making sotdae (wooden poles with bird carvings), tying wishes on braided ropes, and trying tuho (arrow throwing game). All experience programs will be conducted outdoors in small groups to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

On the 4th, the Nuri Magazine (webzine) on the Seoul Hanok Portal will introduce folk beliefs and traditional arts that permeate our daily lives. Curator Irang from the Eunpyeong History Hanok Museum will explore the artistic value of folk beliefs and traditional arts that embody the meaning of warding off evil (byeoksa, 闢邪) through folk paintings, mask plays, talismans, and more, and will share various cases and their values that remain in our rituals and daily life, integrated into the lives of modern people.

On the 11th, the traditional performance team ‘Mu(Tal)’, inheriting the Bongsan Mask Dance and Goseong Ogwangdae Mask Play, will present an exciting mask dance performance online via the Seoul Hanok Portal and other platforms.

For more details, please check the Seoul Hanok Portal website and Bukchon Culture Center’s social media channels, or contact the Bukchon Culture Center directly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.