Buchaechum: Amazing Facts On Korean Traditional Dance For Kids

Buchaechum is a Korean fan dance.

This Korean traditional dance form is performed by Korean female dancers. This traditional form of Korean dance has evolved from religious dances and the folk dances of Korea.

The word 'Buchaechum' comes from two Korean words. 'Buchae' means 'fan', and 'chum' means 'dance'.

This beautiful dance was the brainchild of legendary Korean dancer Kim Baek-Bong. She took inspiration from other existing Korean dance forms like Korean shamanic ritual dances and religious dance forms to create this new Korean fan dance.

During her illustrious career, she won several domestic and international awards for her work as the creator of this wonderful dance tradition. Kim Baek-Bong is credited with the writing of a dance drama named, 'The Story of Our Village', a ballet of monumental proportions named Biryeon, and one more dance form called Jihyo.

When we talk about Korean dance, we do not mean any one particular dance form. Korea has had a long history of traditional dance forms. Korean dance includes not only traditional dance forms but folk dances, shamanic dance forms, religious ritual dances, and the like.

It is important to note that the erstwhile Joseon dynasty, which ruled Korea for more than five hundred years, had a great interest in promoting Korean traditional dance forms and Korean traditional music in their kingdom. They were in power until the end of the 19th century.

By this time, the traditional form of Korean dance had become an amalgamation of folk dance, shamanistic dance, and a variety of religious dances. The traditional Joseon court was a great patron of Korean shamanism along with Buddhism and Taoism.

The predominance of Korean shamanism in Korean culture can be seen in the basic philosophy of many Korean traditional forms. One of the functions of the Korean shamanic ritual dances was to ward off evil spirits from the places where people lived. It was done to usher in growth and riches.

Korea is not the only country that can boast of fan dance forms. Neighboring country Japan also has a popular fan dance.

It is known as Jinta mai or Kamigata mai. This dance form is a woman-only dance form that is heavily influenced by the classical elements of the main style of the Japanese dance form. Jinta mai performances are singular and have no group variant.

In present-day Japan, you will find access to Jinta mai dance shows only in Kyoto and Osaka and their environs. Jinta mai is similar to Buchaechum in many ways, but there are differences as well.

For example, whereas the Buhcaechum dance form concentrates mainly on the fan and the movements they make, Jinta mai dance focuses on the dancer more than the equipment. Also, in Jinta mai, we get to see the use of pantomime and circular movements. These are relatively absent in Buchaechum fan dance.

In modern Korea, lots of dance companies have begun experimenting with Buchaechum fan dance. Take, for example, the Jin Yurim Dance Group.

They have become very famous in recent years because they have injected some variations from other dance forms into Buchaechum fan dance to give more diversity to its movements. This dance company is more invested in the solo version of Buchaechum fan dance.

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Buchaechum Dance History

Buchaechum fan dance is not very old. It was the creation of a famous dancer named Kim Baek-bong.

She first presented this dance form in front of an audience in the year 1954. Kim Baek-bong was heavily influenced by folk dance forms of her country. She studied the many Korean dance forms of her country and then devised her ideas.

Afterward, she patched them up with the classical technique of Korean dance. The enormous success and admiration that Kim Baek-bong had received over the years from the government of South Korea and foreign organizations had turned her into a legendary figure in both the Koreas (North and South).

Kim Baek-bong wanted the best of Korean dance to reflect through Buchaechum fan dance. When you watch a Buchaechum dance recital, you will hear continuous music in the background. This is because Kim Baek-bong took the help of Korean ritual music to enhance the experience of her audience.

During every performance of Buchaechum, audience members are given not just a visual treat; they are also taken on a grand musical ride. In both solo and group Buchaechum dance recitals, the audience gets to listen to either an instrumental solo, called Sanjo in Korean, or a folk song, called Minyo in the local language.

Due to the worldwide recognition and fame that Buchaenchum has been able to gather over the last quarter of the 20th century, it was identified as a masterful dance in the year 1991 by the national-level Korean Dance Association.

In the year 2014, the governments of North Korea and South Korea jointly declared Buchaechum as the third intangible cultural property of the South Pyeongyang Province in North Korea.

Buchaechum Dance Significance

Buchaechum is not only a dance form, it is also a reflection of the best in Korean culture. When dancers perform on the bare stage, they reflect the values and greatness of Korean culture.

If you follow a Buchaechum fan dance routine, you will find that the dancers work in unison to create beautiful imagery on stage. You may catch them imitating the movement of a butterfly flying from one flower to the next.

You may also get to see the Buchaechum fan dancers using their fans to show the audience the movement of ocean waves. You may also see a solo Buchaechum dancer transform into a bird on stage.

If you are lucky, you may also see the dancers creating the motions of a moving dragon. This is because dragons are important in many Asian and East Asian cultures and folklores, including Korea.

Buchaechum fan dance relies greatly on the vitality of nature. Buchaechum fan dance, hence, is not simply a dance form; it is representative of Korean culture and heritage.

In group choreography, the success of the performance lies in the quality of the movement combinations of the dancers. When they come together and create various formations, the graceful aspects of the dance movements get projected in a big connected flow.

The immensely talented Buchaechum fan dancers can also break from their usual rhythm and stand completely motionless like tight balls.

In Buchaechum fan dance, female dancers generally wear a costume that has the same color as that of the fan. Both the fans the dancers use while performing, and the hanboks, have exquisite pink peony blossoms and flower blossoms imprinted on them.

The pink peony blossoms have a symbolic angle to them as well. They represent the rich diversity of flora in Korea. There are no signs assigned in the sign language to Buchaechum.

Buchaechum Dance Clothing Details

We already know that Buchaechum fan dance is performed by female dancers. The Buchaechum dancers wear identical costumes to help them synchronize their movements well.

We can never ignore the visual part of any dance form. The way the dancers are dressed is equally, if not more, important for the dancers to successfully communicate their message or idea to the audience. All the dancers in a Buchaechum group presentation wear a traditional Korean dress called hanboks.

The brightly colored hanboks have flowing sleeves on the sides and have images of phoenix embroidered on them. Hanboks are large costumes that cover almost the entire body of the dancer.

The length of a hanbok can reach the feet of the performer. We can seldom see the fast-moving feet of the Buchaechum dancers while they are stationary on the stage.

Buchaechum fan dancers carry fans, painted generally in the color pink, that become the most important part of the dance. Ideally, these large fans, painted in pink, should be made of paper.

But we also get to see fans made of cloth these days at Buchaechum dance shows. Every single Buchaechum female dancer gets to hold two large fans, which they use to produce precise movements. Each Buchaechum dancer, either performing solo or in a group, is needed to wear a crown-shaped golden tiara on the head.

Buchaechum dancers wear beautiful ornamental dresses to evoke the richness and great natural harmony of the land of Korea. Out of all the dance equipment, the fans take center stage in a Buchaechum dance recital. It is through these fans that dancers emote their feelings to the viewers.

When is Buchaechum performed?

When we look back in time, we find that Buchaechum fan dance made its debut on the stage in the year 1954. This was the year when Kim Baek-bong, the founder of this dance form, showcased her creation in front of mesmerized audience members at the Seoul City Hall.

The program ran from November 26 to 28, and only the solo dance form of Buchaechum was performed by Kim Baek-bong.

What helped Buchaechum fan dance in garnering international attention was its staging in 1964 at the 12th Tokyo Olympics Cultural Festival. This was followed by special performances at the cultural missions of Honk Kong, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

This was the period that saw Buchaechum fan dance start capturing the imagination of a truly international audience. Buchaechum was also performed at the World Folk Arts Festival in Tokyo during the 1968 Tokyo Olympics.

By this time, the group version of Buchaechum fan dance had already been developed, and hence, around 20 dancers enthralled an audience consisting of people from around the world.

The group variant of Buchaechum fan dance was received well because it reflected the spirit and cooperation of different entities coming together to create something beautiful. This ran parallel to the ethos of the Olympic games.

Buchaechum fan dance has become one of the iconic dance forms of Korea. It is performed in many Korean festivals, concerts, and state events.

Its growing popularity in the latter half of the twentieth century has led to the opening of Buchaechum fan dance centers in other parts of the world as well. For example, the Mugunghwa Dance Academy, which is located in Budapest, Hungary, is renowned for upholding this traditional Korean dance form.

As it is one of the intangible heritage Korean dance forms, the South Korean government fully supports its proliferation. The main purpose is to allow the dancer to express their identity.

Buchaechum has emerged as the most popular Korean traditional dance form of the 20th century. It has received a great amount of respect and admiration in recent times.

As its fame spreads far and wide, we would hope that it inspires artists from other countries. We would love to see their traditional fan dances on the international platform. It is high time that indigenous art and culture get celebrated on the world stage.

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