전통예술 경연대회의 새로운 방향성 모색

Abstract

Tradition as an authorized obvious holiness is generally acknowledged today. It is a kind of master signifier preventing doubts about its meaning and essence. Korean traditional performing arts contests have been treated as a sacred ritual for the ‘holy tradition’, but the role and direction of the contests should be reconsidered in this contexts. In 1960’s, the purpose of Korean traditional performing arts contests was the preservation and transmission of traditional performing arts by means of endorsing students' ambitions and cultivating the talents. This is not valid today considering the current conditions: tradition is accepted as ‘full holiness’; traditional performing arts are guaranteed institutional authority; and the competition amongst students and the graduates is very severe. If so, the role and direction of traditional performing arts contests should be newly established upon the eye-level of contemporary people, shedding the belief of ‘tradition as hegemonic discourse.’ Concretely, it can be argued that the direction should be changes from main agents to supporters in the position of students and the graduates, from elites to people, from ‘work’ to ‘behavior’, from authoritative presentation to participation of the audience.