Sooyeong Yaru Mask Dance

Just trying out this feature on Blogger to see how movies are uploaded on the blog.

This is the Sooyeong Yaru Mask Dance from the Andong Mask Festival. Andong is Amy's hometown, btw.



The Mask Dance is distinctly Korean and honestly, I could only stand so much of it. As someone who is untrained to really appreciate the nuances of the Mask Dance, I had difficulty really appreciating it. The constant beating of the instruments started sounding the same after a while and it really didn't help that I could not understand what the characters were saying. They did have on the side wall in English what the plot was and general information about the specific Mask Dance. I was told by my Korean friends that they also found it to be a bit boring.

I suppose Mask Dances like these are excellent from a cultural and historical context, similar to Shakespeare's works. I would say that the average person would say that they find Shakespeare's works boring as well.

Am I glad I got to see it? Yes, I am. This is something distinctly Korean and part of the Korean cultural identity.

My philosophy is that, just because I don't like something now, doesn't mean I won't appreciate it later. I'm sure that many of you can relate to that. I mean geez, how many times as a kid were you all pissed off about some event that your parents dragged you to and you SO did not want to go, and yet afterward you realized how lucky you really were to get to experience that event?

I really am trying to live my life now, where I find myself saying less and less, "Man, I should have done that." And I think I'm doing a pretty good job at it. How about you?