Making of rope for Gijisi Juldarigi in full swing as Gijisi Juldarigi Festival is held in three years

▲ This photo, provided by Dangjin city, shows the scene of making the rope for the Gijisi Juldarigi. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

▲This photo, provided by Dangjin city, shows the scene of making the rope for the Gijisi Juldarigi. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, May 2 (Yonhap) -- The production of large ropes to be used for the "Gijisi Juldarigi Festival" in Dangjin city, South Chungcheong province, will be held from the 13th to the 15th.

Gijisi Juldarigi is a tug-of-war that uses a centipede-shaped rope to drive out bad luck from the centipede-shaped landscape. While it began among merchants, it is also played by tens of thousands of people in the marketplace.

Gijisi Juldarigi (National Intangible Cultural Heritage No.75), which prays for abundance and peace for the year, is a traditional culture with a 500-year history handed down from Gijisi-ri, Songak-eup, Dangjin city.

In 2015, the tug-of-war of four Asian countries, including South Korea, Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam were inscribed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

While the festival could not be held in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, this year, the festival is will be held for the first time in three years on a smaller scale.

By the 9th of this month, the tug-of-war rope will be finally completed with the head string, side string, small strings on the large, main string.

The rope is made by connecting two 100-meter long male and female ropes. The male rope has a folded head, and the female rope has a round head. As a result, the heads are made with 300 thin ropes, 1.8 meters in circumference. 

"It feels new to be making a rope in three years," said Kim Byeong-jae, president of Gijisji's tug-of-war preservation committee on the 2nd. " I hope that many people will participate in this tug-of-war folk festival and enjoy the feeling of being one.”

 

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

 

 

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