Cheoyongmu

What it is

Cheoyongmu is a dance from Korea in which the performers cover their faces with masks. It takes its name and its story from Cheoyong, a character in Korean legend. Five dancers appear together, never a different number. Their movement shifts with the music: when the tempo and style change, the dancers change with it, and lines of song are sung between the instrumental passages. The dance has been understood in two ways at once, as a court entertainment of great dignity and as a shamanistic rite. In its older form it belonged to the close of the year, when it was meant to push evil spirits away.

Origins and the legend

The dance is the oldest Korean court dance still performed, and its beginnings are placed in the Unified Silla period. Its subject is the legend of Cheoyong, a figure from Korean mythology. Because it was danced at the end of the year to drive off evil spirits, it has also been treated as a shamanistic dance rather than only a courtly one. It stayed in the repertoire of the Korean court through later centuries, and studies of folk performance in different regions of the country take it up as well.

How it is performed

Five dancers carry the piece. Their bearing is meant to be majestic and vigorous, and nothing in it stands apart from the music: the style and the tempo of the accompaniment decide how the movement goes. Lyrical songs are recited as well, so the performance passes between dance and voice. Masks and costumes are a large part of what audiences notice. The same shape serves both settings in which the dance is known, the royal court and the rite that was meant to clear evil spirits away as the year closed.

Masks, costumes and records

Masks and costumes are among the things this dance is known for, and a painted album called Gisa gyecheop shows a performance of it. Pictures of that kind sit alongside living performances as a record of how the piece looked in later court life. Viewers notice the dress and the face coverings as much as the steps. Beyond the images, what is known about Cheoyongmu comes from Korean-language scholarship and from the heritage records that go with its protected status.

Recognition today

South Korea listed Cheoyongmu as an intangible cultural property in 1971, which brings it under national protection and into the country's system for safeguarding living traditions. UNESCO added it to the Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2009, and that step introduced the dance to audiences far outside Korea. It is still taught and performed as a court dance with a long lineage, and it continues as part of the country's living heritage.

How Cheoyongmu is kept

Five dancers perform the piece together. Their movement follows the accompaniment, changing as the style and tempo of the music change, and the dance is given a majestic and vigorous bearing. Lyrical song is recited as part of the performance, so the dance and the singing alternate. The masks and costumes are a recognised part of the whole. In its older use the dance was given at the end of the year, when it served to drive evil spirits away, and that protective purpose is why it has also been called a shamanistic dance.

When and where

Older accounts place it at the end of the year, without naming a fixed date. Today it is also performed at other times, since it is kept as a court dance and a protected heritage piece, not only as a year-end rite.

Cheoyongmu belongs to Korea, and South Korea is where it is kept and protected today. It began as a court dance in the Unified Silla period, and it has been preserved through the court tradition and through the country's heritage system. Korean folk studies have also recorded performances linked to the dance in different regions of the country.

What Cheoyongmu means

For those who keep it, the dance carries more than steps and music. It was made to push evil away at the turning of the year, so it stands for protection from harm. Its five dancers move as one, and its masks let the performers take on the story of Cheoyong rather than appearing as themselves. The courtly dignity of the piece and its older protective work are held together, not set against each other.

Questions people ask about Cheoyongmu

See also

TalchumA Korean mask dance drama in which masked actors sing, dance and mock the powerfulChinese knottingA folk craft of cord tied into lucky shapes, made in China and given as charmsWater lanternSmall lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortunePostpartum confinementA period of rest, nourishment, and seclusion for mothers after giving birth.

Good reading and sources

• Browse the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of good safeguarding practicesUNESCO, Heritage listing
• Browse the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of good safeguarding practicesUNESCO, Article

• Cheoyongmu on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-14.