German Kim
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University

Received January 31, 2021; Revised version received February 18, 2021; Accepted February 28, 2021

Abstract

After the division of Korea into two states, there appeared a significant difference in the folk dance performing styles between the North and the South. At the beginning the traditional culture and art of the Soviet Koreans was under the influence of North Korea. It was explained by the diplomatic relations, economic cooperation and cultural exchange between the Soviet Union and the DPRK only, excluding the Republic of Korea. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the South seized the initiative in the issue of promoting ties between the post-Soviet Koreans and their ethnic homeland, even though their ancestors, in the overwhelming majority, came from the northern provinces of the Korean Peninsula. This article is one of the first steps in studying the Korean folk dances in the USSR and CIS influenced by northern and southern styles from historical point of view. The article deals with the old folk dances (minsok muyong), excluding court dances (kungjung muyong), “new” dances (shin muyong) developed in the 1920s, and modern dances (kundae muyong). Based on varied original sources and long personal observations, the article analyzes the folk dances of the divided Korea represented in the repertoires of professional, semiprofessional, and amateur Korean dance groups in Central Asia.

Key Words : amateur, ethnic motherland, folk dances, Korean theatre, koryo saram, semiprofessional