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www.groovekorea.com / April 2014 64 O scar Wilde once argued that we are only really ourselves when cloaked with another identity. “A man is least himself when he talks in his own person,” he quipped. “Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” The implication is that masks let us express truths that are normally left unspoken. His conclu- sion? “The truths of metaphysics are the truths of masks.” But long before Wilde mused about how masks could shape truth, Ancient Greek actors wore them while deliv- ering their immortal lines, and shamans in many cultures have performed special rites with elaborately covered fac- es. The use of masks is as timeless as it is universal. In Korea, masks, called tal, also date back centuries. Traditionally revered as possessing spiritual power, they were kept in shamans’ houses outside of villages and only taken out for specific ceremonies. From the mid-12th century, they became used for a kind of folk dance in which the common folk, then called “sangmin” or “pyeo- ngmin,” satirized their yangban overlords and expressed their feelings. The “byeolsingut,” as this dance is known, was performed with yangban consent, since it tended to let off steam for the peasants and made for inter-class harmony. The last byeolsingut was performed in 1928, but the tradition was revived again in 1973 in Andong, a town in North Gyeongsang Province that considers itself the center of the national spirit. Just up the road from the nearby Hahoe Folk Village is the Hahoe Mask Museum, where Kim Dong-pyo, an Andong native and master mask craftsman, presents his private collection of masks from around the world to the public. He looks quite young, despite being middle-aged, and comes off as alert and responsive. As we talk, he smokes calmly. The man him- self leads visitors to a small side room that is bare save for a low wooden table and stools made from tree trunk sections. It is a decidedly appropriate setting for a wood artisan who sprang from humble origins. Kim never attended university, instead learning his trade at a woodworking school after graduating high school. Af- ter completing his military service in 1976, he continued woodcraft studies at the Hanyang Wood Carving Institute in Seoul. While there, he met a master woodworker who The Andong mask make r Master craftsman Kim Dong-pyo keeps artisan tradition alive Story by Hal Swindall / Photos courtesy of Kim Dong-pyo and Kim Soo-jin MUsIC & ARTs edited by elaine Ramirez (elaine@groovekorea.com)