Hahoe: The Appropriation and Marketing of Local Cultural Heritage in Kore

Abstract

This paper examines the dynamics involved in the use of local culture in contemporary Korea, with specific reference to the case of Hahoe village in southeast Korea. I identify three different ideological stages in the production of Hahoe culture. In the 1970s, the village was recreated as a hometown of Confucian tradition and began to earn nationwide recognition. In the 1980s, the Hahoe Mask Dance Drama was reconstructed as a symbol of anti-establishment movements in Korea, attracting many dissidents and students to the village. Since the early 1990s, Hahoe has begun to be rapidly transformed into a national tourist resort, a process that has witnessed an overall commodification of the local culture, with no distinct ideological orientation. The paper notes in particular how the villagers, the real carriers of Hahoe cultural heritage, have been responding to the external appropriation and manipulation of Hahoe culture in their attempt to reclaim their cultural ownership.