This November 1st week was Korea Cultured Week. So, on Tuesday(11/02/2009) all the elementary school teachers and students went to Gyenggi Kuc ak dang.

1.What did we do there?

There were numerous outdoor activities.  Along with playing with 3 kinds of Korean drums, such as jangu, a big drum, and a jing, we played many different games from Korean culture.

Here is a list of traditional Korean games we played:

• Jump roping with an old rope. 
• Tuho: this is a game where a person throws arrows into a thin box.
• Gullengshae: a person can roll an iron hula hoop with the sharp stick.
• Yut: this is a boardgame where a person throws four sticks and it determines where he or she can move next on the board.
• A toy top using a stick and a string to twist it.

2.What did we learn in this place?

Here, we learned about many different kinds of entertainment or performances. Koreans in the past used many instruments that are not commonly used in other places. We learned about these kinds of instruments. A  few women even taught us how to play those instruments.  Next, we watched a marionette performance where a man showed us how Korean instruments are used in other easy ways.  After we ate our lunch, we learned how to dance a masked dance and use another traditional Korean drum called a ”sogo”. Dancing the masked dance was interesting. We moved our body a lot and wore a pair of long sleaves to dance with during the masked dance. I wanted to wear the mask but the dance teacher said if we wore a mask for the first time during our learning process, it will be hard to breathe and hot.  When we were learning how to play the drum called sogo, Kathy and I were so tired that we were almost about to sleep.

I also learned the differences between what is a geomungo and a gayageum (the 2 most popular kinds of string instruments in Korea). Lots of people were confused about what is a geomungo and what is a gayageum. The geomungo is played with a thin flat stick (similar to a plectrum) and the gayageum is played by hand.

 3.What was the most memorable part that you can remember?

The most memorable part of my day was learning how to dance the masked dance.  I enjoyed it very much.  I can also remember the marionette characters’ movements, what they did while speaking.