''Mugo'' () is a ''jeongjae'' (): a

Korean court dance Dance in Korea began with shamanistic early rituals five thousand years ago and now ranges from folk dance to newly created and adopted contemporary dance. Overview Korean traditional dance originated in ancient shamanistic rituals thousands o ...

performed using drums. It was created in the

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 ...

period. It also practiced in ritual dance of

Seungjeonmu ''Seungjeonmu'' () is a Korean court dance to wish for and celebrate victory. It is originated 2000 years ago and is composed of a sword dance and drum dance called mugo. Seungjeonmu or ''Dance of Military Triumph'' was performed to wish for vic ...

. Its name comprises the two words, ''mu'' (무, 舞) and ''go'' (고,

鼓 Radical 207 meaning "drum" is 1 of 4 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals total) composed of 13 strokes. In the Kangxi Dictionary there are 46 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. Characters with Radical 207 Literature * * ...

) literally meaning ''dance'' and ''drum'' in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

respectively.

Origins

According to ''"Akji"'' (악지, 樂志), two books from ''"

Goryeosa ''Goryeosa'' (), or ''History of Goryeo'', is an extensive historical record of the Goryeo dynasty, compiled by the officials of Goryeo's successor state, Joseon. Its compilation started during the reign of Taejo of Joseon, Taejo (the founding ...

"'' (고려사 高麗史) which describe the music of

Goryeo dynasty 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 ...

, ''mugo'' originated from a government officer, Lee Hon (

hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

:이혼,

Hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

:李混) during the reign of

King Chungnyeol Chungnyeol (3 April 1236 – 30 July 1308), personal name Wang Kŏ, was the 25th king of Korea's Goryeo dynasty from 1274 to 1308. He was the son of Wonjong, his predecessor on the throne. Chungnyeol was king during the Japan of Mongol Invasi ...

(reign. 1274 – 1308). While being exiled to Yonghae (영해, 寧海), a coastal region in

North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...

, Lee Hon one day made a large drum of a log raft and played it while dancing. Later this dance was transmitted to the

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 ...

and was performed at various events of the Korean palaces and local government offices. There has always been changes in the performance of "Mugo" per each time period since the Goryeo dynasty. The performance was played by

Gisaeng ''Kisaeng'' (), also called ''ginyeo'' (), were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class. First emerging in Goryeo dynasty. were ...

who was hitting the drum and singing the song of

Jeongeupsa ''Jeongeupsa'' (, "The Song of Jeongeup") is the only surviving ''gayo'' () song from the Baekje kingdom. ''Jeongeupsa'' is the oldest song recorded in Hangul, and is thought to be a popular folk song originating sometime after the rule of Ki ...

(정읍사 井邑詞). As the number of drums changes, the number of Gisaeng also changes. Depending on the number of drums, the name also changed to ''two-drum dance'', ''four-drum dance'' and ''eight-drum dance''.

Forms

Eight dancers perform with one large drum placed on the center of the stage. The main dancers called ''wonmu'' (원무), and the assisting dancers called ''hyeopmu'' (협무). Four dancers hold a drumstick in each hand, surround and play the drum; the others, holding a flower-shaped stick in each hand, form an outer circle. The dancers wear a jacket of which the color represents a certain direction: black-north, red-south, blue-east, and white-west.

Music

Mugo is accompanied with court music Dongdongok (동돈곡) and Muaegok (무애곡) during the Goryeo period.

References

Korean dance {{Korea-stub