Memories held in masks come alive as a dance for all at the 2026 Andong International Mask Dance Festival. [Andong City]
Memories held in masks come alive as a dance for all at the 2026 Andong International Mask Dance Festival. [Andong City]

The 2026 Andong International Mask Dance Festival opened Friday evening with a ceremony on the main stage of the mask dance festival grounds.

According to Andong city, an opening parade connecting the festival grounds and the historic downtown area began at 6 p.m. Friday, ahead of the 7 p.m. ceremony. The main stage then featured performances by overseas troupes, an opening declaration, a themed performance and a communal dance celebration.

For centuries, people have donned masks to share joy and overcome sorrow — expressing emotions that words alone could not capture, and passing those memories to the next generation through dance.

This year's festival draws on that tradition with the theme "Memories of Masks, Dance for All," bringing together 17 domestic traditional mask dance groups and 27 performance teams from 23 countries.

The program blends the movements of time-honored mask dance traditions with a contemporary sensibility, presenting mask cultures and dance forms from around the world on a single stage.

Audiences are not merely spectators — they are invited to put on masks and dance alongside performers, becoming part of the festival itself.

The opening ceremony's themed performance began with masks and dances from around the world converging on Andong, then unfolded through four movements: memories of the past, today's dance, a new dance and a dance for all.

The performance carried the message that the memory of the mask does not remain in the past but lives on through the dances of today.

The finale brought cast members and citizens together in a communal celebration, expressing a vision of unity across skin color, age, gender and nationality — all moving as one.

Andong Mayor Kwon Ki-chang said the festival's theme carries a message of understanding differences and coming together through mask dance. "I hope residents and visitors from around the world — from children to the elderly — share the same rhythm and become the true protagonists of this festival," he said.

The 2026 Andong International Mask Dance Festival runs through Oct. 4, spanning 11 days across Jungang Seon 1942 Andong Station, the historic downtown area, Mask Dance Park and the Hahoe Village area.


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