Earticle

The play culture of the Kogurye Period relates closely to work, religion, the New Year and the military arts and reflects the social, political and cultural characteristics of the time. The play culture consists of three kinds of plays. The first one is an individual contest play and is divided into both a hand to hand fight, which has features similar to Kagjo and Subak(wrestling), and training in the military arts such as Kisa(Masang Koongsool). The second is a group contest play and includes Sukjun(a fight with stones), Chookgook(traditional soccer) and Kyugku(traditional polo); it has an entertainment character and provides training in the military arts. The third is Jabhee, led by professional entertainers. The general feature of the play culture of the Kogurye Era is that the Kogurye had very good relations with neighboring countries, and it also had its own individual character. The play was used as a method of training in the military arts. Sometimes performers would have a fierce gang fight for victory when they played. Additionally, a horse-related play, which showed how to ride a horse, was performed having the characteristics of a contest. Professional wandering entertainers who were based in the region were active in the performances. Dividing the characters of the play according to gender, the males were largely fond of a fierce contest play while the females enjoyed a static play which was centered around singing and dancing. This play culture of the Kogurye Period formed a foundation for the Korean play culture of later ages.