Andong Mask Dance Festival

The Andong Mask Dance Festival is a big deal here in Korea. It has a lot to do with traditional Korean culture, but it also brings in traditional dances from around the world, so it's an international event as well. We decided to take an early bus to get to Andong and spend the better part of the day there. It was a bit earlier than either of us would have liked to wake up, but the bus was incredible! There are a few different types of buses around Korea. There are luxury buses, which cost a bit more, and regional buses. Some of them take a really long time to get to the destination because they make a lot of stops along the way, but others just take you straight to your destination. When we bought the tickets, I wasn't sure what was what. It turns out we were on a luxury bus (probably) right to our destination! We got on this bus and the seats were HUGE and very comfy. They had adjustable foot rests that popped out from our seat, and you had plenty of foot room. You could almost fully recline! They also had large arm rests between the seats. It was definitely the most comfortable bus ride I've ever been on.

We arrived in Andong, and they had information booths set up right outside the bus station ready for tourists coming to the festival. At first, the girl told us to take a city bus and walk 10 minutes, but we opted for the taxi instead. It parked right in front of the gate for us. The festival seemed kind of dead at first, and we were a little concerned because it was sort of rainy and dreary. We thought no one else was going to come. I'm pretty sure the festival activities didn't really start until 10am, and we were there a little early.


We were hungry because breakfast, for us, had been like 4 hours before. We walked down what the map of the festival called "food street," looking at all the people setting up and preparing their food. Only one woman called out to us and offered us food, so we went with her and sat down. She gave us menus that were completely written in Korean. It was way too early to be trying to read all of it, and we are still pretty bad at vocabulary. We know a few Korean foods and can find them on the menu, but I don't think this woman had our usual go-to items. We looked at her in a confused sort of way, and she said what I think was the only word she knew in English of the things they make and that word was "fish." Gianni thinks it was because the woman really wanted us to try a specialty of theirs or something. What I assume to be her husband set to work, smoking some fish for us to eat. We got the typical banchan to go with our meal, and then we got two good sized fish, completely whole! And I mean whole--heads, eyes, everything! I think it was the most delicious fish I've ever eaten in my life! That is not an overstatement. It was so tasty.We got some practice deboning the fish using our chopsticks, but we got it after a while. I think the next time will be more successful. We also got some spicy soup to go with the fish and that was tasty too.

After "brunch," we met up with our taekwondo friends, Serena and Max, who had come on a bus with other military families. When we found them, we decided to check out the first big show that was happening in the covered stadium. It was an hour and a half long international dance exhibition. We saw traditional dances from Malaysia, Singapore, China, and Indonesia. We had to pay to get into the stadium, but the rest of the festival was free. The dances were all really cool. There were announcements made before each of the dances saying where the dancers were from, and sometimes giving a little bit of background about what the dance was. China did 4 dances first, and they announcements were very easily understood. After that, they didn't do as much explanation of the dances, and the countries went out of order, so it was a little hard to follow where each of the dances were from. You could sort of tell what the countries were based on the people in the group. Singapore had a lot of younger people, and there dances were pretty but subdued. The movements were slower. Malaysia used their eyes! They did movements, but their eyes were very expressive. China did a traditional dance to bring rain during a drought and a dance that told a story of a Chinese legendary figure as well as two  other dances. I believe it was Indonesia that had a dance involving tin foil like stuff wrapped around their fingers to make it look like they had long nails. It was pretty and the costumes were great. I sincerely hoping I'm not messing up which country did which dances, but, as I said, it was hard for me to follow the announcements. I got some really great shots of the dances happening.

There were various performances in different areas of the festival space as well as in Andong's famous Hahoe Folk Village. We didn't get to go to the Hahoe Village this time, but next time we go, we'll definitely be going. I've heard a lot about it. There were masks all over the festival, including a Shrek statue wearing a mask! There were large wooden carved masks that were very beautiful and ornate as well. The decorations at this festival were very cool. The majority of the festival space was taken up by vendors of food and souvenirs as well as mask making crafts. I made my own bunny shaped mask out of that styrofoam gooey stuff we had as a kid, Floam. I covered the cardboard bunny in the the colors in my tray of Floam. I think it came out alright, but it looked hysterical! We did a lot of shopping for souvenirs, and I found a really cool, professional-looking kongi game set that I'm not really proud of. The best souvenir I got though is the soju in ceramic, mask-shaped bottles. Andong is famous for its strong and good quality soju, and I just hope it lasts for another year, so I can give it to a special someone who has been asking me for presents (coughbencough) ! We walked around the food area for a while. I got a fried dough and a whole coconut that they drilled a hole in for me, so I could drink the milk. Gianni decided to try some silk worm pupas. They sell them here everywhere, even in cans at Home Plus, and he's been wanted to get some. I tried them too. He ate 3 and couldn't eat anymore. I hated the first one I tried. Ugh! They definitely tasted like you were eating bugs. I am not a fan!


As we were about to leave the festival to catch the bus home in time for dinner, we caught a few minutes of a performance on the outdoor stage. It was a group of Korean children YODELING! They sounded alright to me, but boy was it funny listening to Koreans yodel and play music on broom and with bells. Oh god. I caught a few minutes of it on video, and I'll post it later.

The Mask Dance Festival was great. I definitely recommend it to people traveling to see some traditional Korean culture. We had a very fun time. I already posted the pictures, so take a look!