S2023-206d

Understanding Traditional Culture and Society through Gwangju’s Cultural Heritage: Folk Religion 》The Loop Fight of Gwangju

Story

• A loop fight (gossaum nori in Korean) is a traditional folk performance in which two teams compete to knock down a massive rope loop carried and steered by the other team. It is an intense activity traditionally performed by male community members around the first full moon of the lunar year.
• The Loop Fight of Gwangju originated in the Chilseok-dong neighborhood. It was performed to wish for a bountiful harvest and the well-being of the village, as well as to reinforce team spirit and cooperation among the villagers. It was briefly discontinued in the early 20th century but was restarted in 1969. That year, the performance received a presidential prize at the Korea National Folk Arts Contest, making its value as a cultural heritage known. The following year, it was designated as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
• Beginning with the first annual Loop Fight Festival in 1983, the Loop Fight of Gwangju has been performed at various cultural events such as the openings of the 1986 Asian Games, the 1988 Summer Olympics, and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Through this, the enterprising spirit and fierce vigor of the Korean people were made widely known not only to Korea but to the world at large.
• The Loop Fight Theme Park was established to pass down and advance the traditional Korean folk performance known as the loop fight (gossaum nori in Korean). Located on a 25,000 m² site in Chilseok-dong, Gwangju, the theme park was constructed between 2010 and 2014 at a cost of roughly 11.4 billion KRW. It consists of facilities such as a training and education center, a video center, a folk performance stage, and an outdoor theater.
• Located within the theme park are two traditional pavilions, namely Buyongjeong and Musongjeong. The former was first established circa 1411 by the military official Kim Mun-bal (1359-1418), and the latter was built in 1922 by the scholar Seo Tae-hwan (1857-1940).
• At the entrance to Chilseok-dong Village, there is also a ginkgo tree designated as a Gwangju Monument. The locals consider the tree to be auspicious and refer to it as “Grandmother Guardian Tree.” It is said that the loop fight was traditionally performed after a ritual offering was conducted in front of this tree on the night before the first full moon of the lunar year.

Semantic Data

Node Description

id	class	groupName	partName	label	hangeul	hanja	english	infoUrl	iconUrl
S2023-206d	Story	Episode		The Loop Fight of Gwangju			The Loop Fight of Gwangju	http://dh.aks.ac.kr/~gwangju/wiki/index.php/S2023-206d	http://dh.aks.ac.kr/~gwangju/icon/episode.png