The Namsadang Nori, literally translated as the ‘all-male vagabond clown theater,’ is a multifaceted folk performance tradition. It used to be widely practiced by traveling entertainers and is now maintained by professional troupes in the Republic of Korea. It was believed to have been formed spontaneously during the Joseon dynasty before 1900, and that they used to wander about marketplaces and villages. There has been very sparse historical documentation on troupes for many centuries since they were considered the lowest class in society along with cheonmin (vulgar commoners) or baekjeong (butchers). A record of a puppet performance from the Silla era (57 BCE - 935 CE) has been found, therefore it is reasonable to assume that similar itinerant companies appeared in Korean history at some point in history. The late Joseon Dynasty was home to a number of namsadang, but the group that was based at Cheongryongsa temple in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province was the most famous. These troupes were composed of only men, as "nam" (a masculine word in Korean) means a male. A few female members were later accepted into the troupe.
The performance includes six components: farmers' music, which utilizes the percussive sounds of metal gongs and animal-hide drums; mask dances, which present four comic scenes depicting people of different social classes; a tightrope walker engages in hilarious exchanges with an audience while performing on a high wire; a puppet play features more than fifty puppets who perform seven scenes in concert with a narrator and musicians; acrobatics combine feats performed on the ground with comic dialogue and music, and an intricate display of hoop spinning with a wooden stick finishes out the performance.
While Namsadang Nori entertained rural audiences in outdoor arenas, it also carried a powerful social message. With mask dance and puppet play, in particular, the performance enacted oppression of the lower classes as well as women in a male-dominated society through satire. During these performances, social inequality and freedom were directly addressed and the ideals of equality and freedom were embodied. As a result, the performances inspired and sustained the poor. As a result, they sought to inspire hope for freedom and equality in the hearts of their commoner audience under the yoke of class distinction.
There are 40-50 male Namsadang performers required to perform the entire repertoire. The troupes are strictly hierarchical and follow an apprenticeship system for passing down their skills from generation to generation. As a result of foreign aggression, national division and war, and the rapid influx of foreign culture in the 20th century, the troupes declined rapidly and barely survived. In 1964, the government designated this faltering performing arts tradition as one of our most important intangible cultural assets to the nation, which greatly contributed to its revival. New means were given to systematic training of young artists to keep it as a mainstream folk performing arts genre. Despite this, the tradition still struggles on a fragile foundation, making it difficult to ensure its enduring success.
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