‘Rituals Connecting the Divine and the Village’ Performed at UNESCO Hahoe Village for Jeongwol Daeboreum Dongje

For 31 Years, Sanju Kim Jongheung Has Carried On Community Traditions
Through Mask Dance and Jangseung Craftsmanship

At Hahoe Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, the traditional communal ritual known as Dongje, held on Jeongwol Daeboreum (the first full moon of the lunar year) to pray for the village’s peace and a bountiful harvest, was performed along with the Daljip Burning Ceremony. This event served as a moment to reflect on the profound significance of traditional communal rites.

The presence of master artisan Kim Jongheung, who has been serving as the ritual host in Hahoe Village for 31 years, symbolically demonstrates this fact. Photo by Byunggun Kwon

The event, held on March 3, 2026, was an opportunity to reenact the folk rituals and communal beliefs that the World Heritage historic village of Hahoe has preserved for centuries. Both residents and visitors participated together, sharing in the traditions of the village.

At the heart of the ritual was Kim Jongheung, the renowned jangseung (wooden totem pole) master who has presided over the ceremony as the 'Sanju (Mountain Owner)' of Hahoe Village for 31 years. The Sanju serves as the principal ritual officiant of Hahoe Village, overseeing the Dongje on Jeongwol Daeboreum, the Hahoe Byeolsingut Mask Dance Drama, and other important village ceremonies, and is responsible for conducting the rites that invite the deities before these major events.

Kim Jongheung, as the Sanju, is known as a master craftsman who performs the mask dance and carves the jangseung totems in Hahoe Village. He is regarded as a priestly figure who connects the spiritual and human realms through a shamanic ritual before the Hahoe Byeolsingut Mask Dance Drama begins. Within the village community, the Sanju is seen as a symbolic figure who communicates with the gods and presides over the ceremonies.

During this Dongje as well, Kim participated in the mask dance with the residents, reinforcing the meaning of the ritual, and recreated the tradition of guardian spirit worship by personally crafting a jangseung as part of the ceremony. The jangseung, erected together with the Dongje, serves as a symbol of protection for the village, marking its boundaries and warding off misfortune, while also expressing the community’s wishes for peace and safety.

The Dongje and Daljip Burning Ceremony of Hahoe Village’s Jeongwol Daeboreum are representative seasonal customs through which villagers burn away misfortune from the past year and pray for abundance and tranquility. After the ritual, residents set the daljip (a large bonfire structure) alight, wishing for the village’s peace and a bountiful harvest.

Especially at the World Heritage Hahoe Village, these ceremonies are valued as more than just folk events; together with the Hahoe Byeolsingut Mask Dance Drama, they are recognized as core elements of the community’s faith and living culture.

Kim Jongheung stated, “Dongje is not simply an event, but a ceremony in which the village begins the year by bringing together the gods, the people, and nature. I will continue to fulfill my role as Sanju so that Hahoe Village’s traditional rituals and mask dance culture can be preserved.”

Cultural experts in the region point out that the reason Hahoe Village is recognized as a World Heritage site lies not only in its architecture and landscape, but also in the living traditional culture sustained by the community.

At the center of the ceremony was Kim Jongheung, a master jangseung carver known as Tamok, who has been the 'Mountain Lord' of Hahoe Village for 31 years, leading the ritual. Photo by Byunggeon Kwon

A cultural researcher commented, “The Dongje and Byeolsingut Mask Dance Drama of Hahoe Village are unique cultural heritages that combine communal faith and artistry. The tradition has been sustained thanks to inheritors like Sanju Kim Jongheung, who have carried on these ceremonies for decades.”

The true value of World Heritage cannot be explained by visible cultural assets alone. The Dongje and Byeolsingut Mask Dance Drama continuing in Hahoe Village are ways of life in which the community has maintained the order between the divine, nature, and people. The presence of master artisan Kim Jongheung, who has served as Sanju for 31 years, stands as a symbolic scene demonstrating that Hahoe Village’s tradition is not merely a cultural event, but a living community heritage.

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