''Jultagi'' or ''eoreum'' is traditional

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

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, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

's Important Intangible Cultural Properties number 58.

Origin

There is no evidence when this

acrobatic performance Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in ac ...

originated. Some scholars presumed it appeared during

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

and

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

era. It became more famous in

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

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 p ...

like Daeboreum, Dano and Chuseok holidays. The Korean folk village 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''.

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 '' King and the Clown'' * 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. Life Yi Cheong-jun was born in 1939. He graduated with a degree ...

, 李淸俊)

References

External links