Byeongsin chum

Byeongsin chum (Korean: 병신춤, lit. the dance of the handicapped) is a Korean folk dance that was performed by the lower class peasants to satirize the Korean nobility (Yangban) by depicting them as the handicapped persons and sick persons such as paraplegics, midgets, hunchbacks, the deaf, the blind, lepers,[1] as well as characters from Pansori and other Korean folklore.[2] It originated in Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do. In modern times, byeongsin chum has been acknowledged to public by South Korean actress Gong Ok-jin (공옥진).

According to Busan National University professor Chae Hui-hwan, byeongsin chum is not a dance that simply mimicks and ridicules the handicapped. Rather, it is an expression of the liberation of men that enlightens the viewers that everybody who does poorly in society is like a handicapped person.[3]

In 2001, a performance of byeongsin chum put on by a South Korean theatrical group in Daehangno caused a controversy, with critics calling the play discriminatory and offensive toward the handicapped. The Research Institute of the Differently Abled Person's Right in Korea (RIDRIK) stated that although the freedom of expression is important in art, the form that makes fun of the alienated is the problem, and that they disapproved of the old customs of Korean society that humiliate the handicapped.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 에듀넷-브리태니커 학습백과 (in Korean). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  2. ↑ Lee Jae Bum. 고전무용 (in Korean). Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  3. ↑ "이는 불구자를 단순히 흉내내어 모멸하기 위해서 추는 춤이 결코 아니다. 이는 춤을 출 수 없는 신체적 불구자가 추는 춤이되, 불구에서 정상으로 옮겨 내는 싸움의 춤이다. 그리고 그것은 모두가 사회적으로 병신이라는 것을 깨닫게 하는 춤이며, 불구화된 것을 불구로써 척결하여 인간의 해방을 성취하고자 하는 춤이다. 춤으로써 가장 인간적인 것이 지상에 실현되는, 지상을 미적 유토피아로 뒤바꾸는 춤인 것이다." Chae Hui-hwan. 마당극 따라잡기 (in Korean).
  4. ↑ 이학준 (2001-02-23). ‘병신춤 개그’ 장애인 비하냐 아니냐 (in Korean). The Kukmin Daily. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
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