▲ This photo, provided by Buyeo county, shows a scene from the Hongsan Bobusang Gongmunjae last year. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, Apr. 28 (Yonhap) -- Buyeo county, South Chungcheong province and Hongsan Bobusang Safeguarding Association (translated) announced on the 28th that it will be opening the "Hongsan Bobusang Gongmunjae" for two days in Hongsanmyeon from the 30th.

This event was prepared to develop the local bobusang (merchants that wandered throughout Korea's market places, wearing a paeraengi, a small, round hat made from bamboo stock decorated with cotton while carrying goods on a chokjakdae on their backs) culture and to also make it a representative cultural event in the western part of Buyeo.

The Bobusang Gongmunjae is a ritual that was held during the general assembly of the Bobusang in the late Joseon Dynasty for ancestor Baek Dalwon, who started Bobusang and other initial members along with the official documents that prove the existence of the Bobusang.

It was also a festival where the head of the organization and the executives enjoyed various entertainments and feasts.

The western part of the Buyeo, where the bobusang culture was preserved until the 1970s, was the place where the "Jeosan Palgu Sangmusa" (Hongsan, Hansan, Seocheon, Buyeo, Imcheon, Jeongsan, Nampo) Gongmunjae were held, but due to the industrial development, only the names have remained.

Late Kim Jae-ryun, the last manager of Jeosan Palgu Sangmusa, donated all of his bobusang related belongings to the museum and since then, the bobusang culture has disappeared into history.

Hongsan Bobusang Safeguarding Association has developed the program that links the disappearing bobusang culture with the local traditional market along with the reenactments of the Jeosan Palgu Sangmusa around Hongsan.

On the first day of this year's Bobysang Gongmunjae, which is prepared under the theme of "Asking the path of Bobusang's hope," there will be goyuje (ceremony to inform the spirit for the reason of something), and an assembly on the first day while on the second day, the Gongmunjae and games for the bobusang will be held.

For additional events, demonstrations and exhibitions by the craftsman Kim Young Jo, a renowned practitioner of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 22, Nakhwajang (pyrography- the art of sculpting objects with fire) will also be prepared.

"Bobusang Gongmunjae is a unique ritual and festival that harmonizes the bobusang culture and the market folklore," said an official from the county. "I hope that many people will participate in the festival and experience the culture of bobusang."

 

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)

 

 

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[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]