Dancing, just as it is quite universal in many different cultures, is also popular culture in Korea.

Throughout history, Koreans have developed many different, unique dance cultures that often reflect the then-contemporary thoughts and social values. This paper explores 3 distinct yet similar Korean dance cultures.

One of the most known Korean traditional dance would probably be the Korean mask dance, also known as Talchum(탈춤). Though evidence for Korean mask dance cultures can be traced back to a thousand and some hundreds of years ago during the period of the Three Kingdoms, the most popular form of mask dance Talchum is known to be rooted in the Joseon Dynasty era. One of the most prevailing opinions on how Talchum had developed is of the view that common people, hiding their identity underneath a mask, expressed their resentment towards those ruling class. Talchum can still be found in many Korean culture festivals and is loved by many Koreans and non-Koreans.

▲ Dancers are performing Talchum, Korean traditional dance.

Korean fan dance(부채춤) is also a unique, traditional dance that was first developed after Korean independence. This dance was first thought of and devised by the dancer called Kim Baek-bong in the year of 1954. This fan dance, evolved and revised in various forms, now is highly praised to be one of the unique Korean modern dance that incorporates both Korean traditional dance styles and modern pop trends.

▲ Four female actors are performing Korean fan dance also known as Buchaechum. (Korea.net)

K-pop dance is also worth mentioning, K-pop dance, obviously rooted in pop, global cultures, has developed its distinct color and now is loved by many people across the globe. In fact, famous K-pop artists like BTS and Black Pink have scored more than a billion views on YouTube many times.