Today’s Enlightening Entertainment will be presented in Korean, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Halo, amiable viewers and welcome to today’s episode of Enlightening Entertainment here on Supreme Master Television. In a two-part series, we’ll enjoy the folk cultures of North Korea and South Korea.

Villages throughout the Korean peninsula get together at special times of the year to wish for peace and happiness upon their communities. Today, we’ll get to know about Hamgyeong Province in North Korea, where Dondolnari folk songs and dance are performed. Let’s find out why it’s so meaningful and special to the local people.

Dondolnari originated from Bukcheong, North Korea and has been widely conducted in the county, especially at Mount Morae in Sokhumyeon, where women pick wild chives. After they finish picking, the housewives along with villagers engage in an amusing play involving the whole community. The play not only relaxes mind and body but also conveys wishes for a good harvest and peace for the village. This is the origin of Dondolnari.

Dondolnari, Dondolnari, Dondolnari Rirarirari Dondolnari

Rirarirari Dondolnari Dondolnari, Dondolnari, Dondolnari Dondolnari over Mount Blue, Morae County. Dondolnari over Mount Blue, Morae County.

The word Dondolnari roughly translates as “the day dawns.” To learn more about this spirited local folk art, our Supreme Master Television correspondent met with Mr. Dong Young Beom, director of the Bukcheong Folk Arts Preservation Society, as well as the group’s members.

With regard to Dondolnari, the folk song was used as a means to gather and unite people such as housewives and men, who would sing Dondolnari in Bukcheong before the Lion Play began. So, housewives gathered together to play at Namdaecheon Stream, and later on, men joined them to play Dondolnari and the Lion Play. The main purpose of this play is to seek a good harvest and harmony and peace of the village.

How early did you learn Dondolnari?

I learned it when I was about 13 years old in the North.

Who taught you?

I just watched the adults do it and followed them.

Do all the villagers dance together?

Yes. The village people dance altogether.

Only women dance, don’t they?

No, all villagers, regardless of their age, play together while beating drums and janggu (drums).

On which occasion did you perform Dondolnari in Bukcheong?

Which occasion? We normally played it on Mid-Autumn Day and Dano (fifth day of the fifth lunar month). And on the first full moon day as well. Usually Dondolnari play was followed by the Lion Play.

Would you tell us what Dondolnari means?

Dondolnari means “the day dawns.” No matter what happens, “the day dawns.” Whatever happens, the day comes when the sun rises. I don’t know who composed this, but the phrase was repeated endlessly.

In the Bukcheong dialect, Dondolnari figuratively means “coming back in place.” However, people in Hamgyeong Province interpret it thus: “It turns and returns to its place.”

The syllable “don” in Dondolnari means East or dawn, and “dol” means rotate. “Nari” means the sun or the day. So metaphorically, it means that the sun rotates and everything returns to its place. What rotates and repeats are not only the words of the song, but also the movements of the dance likewise make a circle.

All right! All right! Hurrah, all right! It’s fun to play before you’re 20. It’s fun to play at the young age of 18. All right! All right! Hurrah, all right! A new spring has arrived upon this beautiful land. Lovely apricot flowers bloom charmingly.

All right! All right! Hurrah, all right! It’s fun to play before you’re 20. It’s fun to play at the young age of 18. All right! All right! Hurrah, all right! A new spring has arrived upon this beautiful land. Lovely apricot flowers bloom charmingly. The display and movements of the dance usually form a circle. Of course, some of them form the “taegeuk,” the yin-yang symbol, or they form a circle that starts from a small one but becomes bigger in the future.

Dondolnari dance, also called the “dallae” (wild chive) dance, expresses aptly the lively movements of the song’s melody rather than the meaning of it. There is no standard pattern or choreography; rather, it is a free dance in which dancers can move freely as they please.

Dondolnari, Dondolnari, Dondolnari, Rirarirari Dondolnari, Rirarirari Dondolnari,

Hey hey, my man! Walk quickly! Let’s go to Namdaecheon riverside.

No reluctance! That’s good! It’s fun and exciting. First light rises over this chilly hill. No reluctance! That’s good! The new day is dawning! No reluctance! That’s good! The new day is dawning!

Another characteristic of the Dondolnari performance is the use of a unique instrument, a gourd bowl, to keep time. This is called the bagaji beat, which is unique and found only in Hamgyeong Province, North Korea.

Water is poured into a water jar or water pitcher, and then a bagaji is put face-down on the water before we dance to gourd bowl rhythm. That’s why it’s called bagaji rhythm. It’s Hamgyeong Province’s unique bagaji rhythm.

Wait a moment! What is inside here? They look like spoons and chopsticks.

Yes, they are stainless steel chopsticks, but originally we used to use brass chopsticks. They were all made of brass. Next, we put it face down. Bagaji in North Korea is actually bigger than this. If a water jar is big like this and if the water is full, then the sound of the beat is good. Cling, clang! These chopsticks are playing around inside.

The main beat of Dondolnari is the jungmori-jangdan rhythm. People in Bukcheong call it “deong-da-dak-gung-tta” rhythm. “Deong-da-dak-gung-tta” “Deong-da-dak-gung-tta” Here also, the “deong-da-dak-gung-tta” rhythm continues, but it varies depending on how fast it beats. So this rhythm has been passed on only in the Bukcheong region.

My home is good, my home is sweet. Our Bukcheong hometown is good.

My parents have raised me well And found me a mate to marry me off.

I woke up next morning And found a marriage letter had arrived.

Though I vow never to get married I ended up getting in the wedding sedan chair.

I’m now under a silken quilt and I can think of no better plan.

It’s no use covering with an unquilted blanket. One day of affection is neither bad nor good.

Thread follows wherever the needle goes. How can I not follow wherever you may go?

Bukcheong folk songs have a variety of topics within their lyrics, and the expression is simple and optimistic. The topics reflect the people’s diligent labor, love between people, and local customs, as well as social issues. The songs’ rhythm is cheerful and lyrical.

The folk songs of Hamgyeong Province are less cheerful than those of Gyeongsang Province, but a lot more cheerful and rhythmical than those of Gangwon Province. That is, the characteristic of the folk songs here is buoyant and cheerful, and they never give up on the hope and determination for the future.

Now let’s watch our last performance. It begins with the words “Shining Chosun,” reminiscent of the glorious old name of Korea.

Shining Chosun! Shining Chosun! It’s a beautiful land, hurrah! Dingdong dingdong! (sound of flying grains) Pick out the straw and dry leaves. Chalsak chalsak!

The watermill produces straw. Let’s build a house with wood and cook a meal with grains of the field! Shining Chosun! Shining Chosun! It’s a beautiful land, hurrah! In a snow-covered thatched cottage, there lives a boy. By a far-away-brook, there lives a girl. Let’s dig the soil with a hoe! Let’s dance spiritedly while smiling. Shining Chosun! Shining Chosun! It’s a beautiful land, hurrah!

We have explored the local folk songs and dance as have been performed for ages in Bukcheong, Hamgyeong Province, North Korea. Dondolnari can be figuratively interpreted in many ways. However, most importantly, it gives people hope that if they cherish their dreams and try their best to fulfill them, a bright day will surely dawn – just like the meaning of the word “Dondolnari” itself.

Thank you for your wonderful company today. Tomorrow, we’ll continue our program by exploring the representative folk art of South Korea, called “Nongak.” So please join us again tomorrow. Now, coming up next is Words of Wisdom, right after Noteworthy News. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television. May your heart be happy and smiling.