''Jultagi'' () or ''eoreum'' () is traditional

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n performance of

tightrope-walking Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

. It is included into

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

's Important Intangible Cultural Properties number 58.

Origin

There is no evidence when this acrobatic performance originated. Some scholars presumed it appeared during

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

and

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

era. It became more famous in

Joseon dynasty Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

era and still exists to this day. It is different from the tightrope-walking styles of other countries, because it is usually accompanied by music plays by telling a story to entertain viewers. Jultagi is held on

public holidays in South Korea Public holidays in South Korea each belong to one or more of three categories: *National day () *National flag raising day () *Public holiday () Each category has a different legal basis. All national days are also flag-raising days. List of pu ...

Daeboreum Daeboreum () is a Korean holiday that celebrates the first full moon of the new year of the lunar Korean calendar. This holiday is accompanied by many traditions. Origins The record about the origin of Daeboreum is recorded in the book ''Sam ...

, Dano and

Chuseok Chuseok (; , ), also known as Hangawi (; ; from Old Korean, "the great middle f autumn), is a major mid-autumn harvest festival and a three-day holiday in South Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunisolar calendar on the ...

holidays. The

Korean folk village Korean Folk Village () is a living museum type of tourist attraction in the city of Yongin, a satellite city in the Seoul Metropolitan Area in the province of Gyeonggi in South Korea. It was first opened on October 3, 1974 (ground breaking in 19 ...

in Seoul also presents this play to entertain tourists. It was also performed in events held in the royal palace, banquets of high-ranking government officers or village festivals. The tightrope walking performance is composed of a rope player, a clown and musical instrument players. An example of these plays can be seen in the movie ''

King and the Clown ''The King and the Clown'' () is a 2005 South Korean historical drama film starring Kam Woo-sung, Jung Jin-young, and Lee Joon-gi. It was adapted from the 2000 stage play, ''Yi'' ("You") about Yeonsangun of Joseon, a Joseon dynasty king and a co ...

''.

Technique

There are more than 40 kinds of Jultagi techniques including a walking on a tight rope as the basic motion, a reversed walking on it, leaping with one foot on it, sitting and lying on it, and sometimes pretending to fall down. Another elaborate tightrope walking trick is jumping up after kneeling on the tightrope with one knee and then landing on the rope in a cross-legged sitting position. Some expert tightrope walkers can jump forward while standing on the rope without falling.

Transmitter

Works

* The film ''

'' * The novel ''Jul(rope)'' (이청준,

Yi Chong-jun Yi Cheong-jun (, 9 August 1939 - 31 July 2008) was a prominent South Korean novelist. Throughout his four decade-long career, Yi wrote more than 100 short stories and 13 novels. Biography Yi Cheong-jun was born on August 9, 1939 in Jangheung C ...

, 李淸俊)

References

External links