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.