A Study on the Value of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Subak, a Traditional Martial Arts

In the dictionary of folk terms, it is called subakchigi, a martial art practiced by military officials during the Goryeo Dynasty. Traces remain in the national intangible cultural property Pilbong Pungmulgut. It is called the game of sitting in two lines and clapping your hands. According to Shin Chae-ho, subak in Songdo (Kaesong) is a tradition of Goguryeo military officers. Subak came to China and became a martial art, then came to Japan and became judo, and its origin is said to be old. In the case of North Korea, it seems that only the subak dance and the subak play remain among the various types of subak. Surroundings of subak and similar cultures are salpan's kicking, military's subak, Jindo's hand hitting during Ganggangsullae, and North Korea's foot dance (dance performed by military officers in Dancheon, Hamgyeong-do). Bakpan dance (turning over and rubbing, shoulder dance with arms wide open is said to be characteristic) of the Kaesong region Song Chang-ryeol (1932-2017), whose hometown is Bukcheong-gun, Hamgyeongnam-do, trained in subak in Kaesong, Gyeonggi-do in the early 1940s. It was already formed before the modern era (before the 1910s) (sometimes recorded as 'Subyeok' in Jeongjo of Joseon) and developed and passed down as a folk sport and martial art with regional characteristics. Cheon Il-ryong passed it on to Song Chang-ryeol, and the present Korea Subak Association has continued. Subak is one of the few traditional Korean martial arts that can be recognized for its historical, traditional, academic, and regional characteristics, and urgent measures are needed for preservation and transmission. Before the Japanese colonial period, in addition to Nalparam and Headbutting in Pyongyang, fistfights in Hamgyeong-do, subakchigi in Gaeseong, and Taekkyeon in Seoul were famous. Around Nammuntong (market) near Namsan Mountain in Kaesong, there were many Gaeseong merchants who dominated the commercial district at the time. According to Song Chang-ryeol's testimony, the gangsters who mainly used fists belonged to Sangindan, and usually fought duels on New Year's Day or certain days, and it was very similar to that. People in Gaeseong presumed that Hanyang, which had been Seoul centered on Gaeseong (Songdo) until modern times, must have had the pride of 'go down', and even came up with a slang saying 'If you touch a merchant in Gaeseong, you will die'. In the case of recently known Taekkyeon, there is an opinion in the academic world that this subak is an example of diversification. Taekkyeon was limited to Seoul, but in the case of Subak, it can be seen as a mainstream Korean martial art that influenced the Nalparam technique of Pyeongando, the capital of Goguryeo. It is regrettable that this martial art, which was mainly seen in Kaesong only half a century ago, is moving away from our people through the era of liberation and war.

在民间术语辞典中，该技艺被称为手搏技（subakchigi），是高丽时期武官修习的武术。其遗存痕迹可见于韩国国家级非物质文化遗产弼峰风物祭（Pilbong Pungmulgut）中，该活动被描述为分坐两列、互击掌面的竞技形式。据申采浩（Shin Chae-ho）所述，松都（今开城）的手搏（subak）是高句丽武官的传统技艺。手搏传入中国后发展为中国传统武术，后东传日本并演变为柔道（judo），其起源可追溯至久远古代。就朝鲜民主主义人民共和国而言，现今各类手搏遗存中似乎仅存手搏舞与手搏戏。与手搏及同类文化相关的技艺包括：salpan踢技、军式手搏、珍岛冈岗苏拉舞（Ganggangsullae）中的击掌环节，以及朝鲜咸镜道端川地区武官表演的足舞。

开城地区的拍板舞（bakpan，以翻滚擦地、双臂舒展的肩臂动作为特色）的传承人宋昌烈（Song Chang-ryeol，1932-2017），祖籍咸镜南道北青郡，于20世纪40年代初在京畿道开城修习手搏技艺。手搏早在近代以前（20世纪10年代之前）便已成型，在朝鲜正祖时期也曾被记作“手搏（Subyeok）”，并作为具有地域特色的民俗体育运动与武术传承发展至今。千一龙（Cheon Il-ryong）将该技艺传予宋昌烈，如今韩国手搏协会（Korea Subak Association）仍在传承这一技艺。

手搏是少数兼具历史价值、传统底蕴、学术意义与地域特色的韩国传统武术之一，亟需采取紧急措施对其进行保护与传承。日本殖民统治时期之前，平壤的nalparam技法与头撞术、咸镜道的徒手搏击、开城的手搏技以及首尔的跆拳（Taekkyeon）均享誉一方。开城南山附近的南文洞（Nammuntong）市集一带，曾聚集了大量掌控当时商圈的开城商人。据宋昌烈的口述证言，当时以拳脚为主要武器的帮派隶属于相仁团（Sangindan），通常会在新年或特定时日进行比武切磋，其形式与手搏颇为相似。开城民众认为，近代以前以松都（开城）为中心的汉阳（今首尔）必然有着“南下”的底气，甚至衍生出俚语“招惹开城商人者，必死无疑”。

就近年为学界所知的跆拳（Taekkyeon）而言，学术界有观点认为，手搏是韩国传统武术流派多元化的典型例证。跆拳的传承范围仅局限于首尔，而手搏则可被视为影响了高句丽古都平壤地区nalparam技法的韩国主流传统武术之一。令人惋惜的是，仅在半个世纪前还广泛流传于开城的这一武术，在解放与战争的岁月中逐渐远离了韩国民众。