Jultagi(Tightrope Walking) Added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List

Three Korean cultural properties were added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list on November 28, 2011. The selected three traditions among the six properties Korea had applied for listing are the traditional martial arts taekkyeon, tightrope walking called jultagi and the ramie fabric weaving of the Hansan region.

Unlike tightrope walking found in many other countries, which generally focuses on acrobatic skill, Korea’s jultagi was recognized as “a traditional performing art of great complexity that integrates musical, choreographic and symbolic expressions of Korean culture to delight and entertain audiences.”

It makes the viewers feel tense yet excited watching the dazzling performance of the clown walking and jumping on a tight rope strung three meters above the ground without any safety catch, while still engaging in lively, sarcastic banter. Among traditional tightrope dancers (called “eoreumsani”) who presented exhilarating performances in the air, Baudeogi stands out above all others.


Only Female Head of Namsadang

Baudeogi’s real name is Kim Am-deok. Born to a poor peasant in 1848 in Anseong, she entered Namsadang, a roving entertainment troupe, at age 5.

Anseong was one of the largest marketplaces during the Joseon era as the crossroads between Seoul and southern provinces. Namsadang was an artistic troupe that went around the country to perform songs, dances and acrobatics in markets. It frequently visited Anseong where numerous people gathered from all over the country. Baudeogi’s father, a poor and sick man, left his little daughter to the care of the entertainment group.

Baudeogi was raised by the troupe of male acrobats and learned skills such as folk drumming, acrobatics and tightrope walking. Before long, she made a name for herself.

Her beauty and talent captivated people, who would say she looked even more beautiful than the sunset when dancing against the glow of the setting sun. Her reputation even gave birth to a song entitled ‘As Anseong Baudeogi Walks on the Rope, Money Pours In.’

Because of her extreme popularity and unusual talent, Baudeogi was unanimously selected as the head of Anseong Namsadang when she was 15, becoming the first-ever female leader of the group. And she developed it into the best multidisciplinary troupe of artist-entertainers.


Jade button Granted by Regent Daewongun

In 1865, three years after she began to lead the nearly 100 member group of Namsadang, she was invited to a special event. At the time, the Regent Daewongun initiated the reconstruction of Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul - which was destroyed during the Japanese invasion of Korea in the 16th century - in order to restore the prestige of the royal family. But the construction made little progress due to heavy costs and the burden of drafted labor.

Daewongun called in entertainers, including Baudeogi, to encourage workers mobilized for the construction. Baudeogi, as expected, animated the party greatly with her phenomenal skills. The show was so fun and exciting that workers were running around the construction site to the rhythm of her performance, carrying a load on their back. In appreciation of her services, Daewongun granted her a headband button made of jade, which was generally given to high-ranking government officials.

When other entertainment troupes saw the banner of Baudeogi’s troupe, with the jade button attached on it, they would lower their banners to pay their respect. Also, Anseong Namsadang was named Baudeogi’s troupe. Unfortunately, the top entertainment’s performance was doomed to vanish shortly.


A Life like a Flame

Although she was able to ascend to the highest position as an artist-entertainer, she led an exhausting, wandering life until she died from lung disease in 1870 at the tender age of 23.

Apparently distressed by her tragic death, some people say that Baudeogi was originally a fairy who did something wrong in heaven and stayed in the human world only for a little while. Drifting from place to place like a wind or a cloud, the legendary ropedancer consoled and amused common people with her outstanding feats in the face of her low social standing and centuries-old prejudice against women.