ANSEONG, Gyeonggi ― It took a while for Kim Gi-bok to come open the door, but when he finally did, he greeted his visitors with a big toothless grin and steered them inside his small tile-roof house.
Mr. Kim is the last living member of Namsadang, a folk-entertainment troupe whose fame has crossed over into legend. He was also the troupe's last leader, conducting the live performances for the all-male circus act that had traveled around the country putting on shows since 1853, during the late Joseon Dynasty.
Namsadang (which literally means "Traveling Male Entertainers", since all the members were men) was a mix of many skills: It combined acrobatics with political satire and mask dances. It's the kind of entertainment that movie-goers across the country are now lapping up at viewings of "King and The Clown", a blockbuster movie about a group of court jesters.
Mr. Kim's role on stage was deceptively simple ― all he had to do was hit a gong and jump up and down. But how a...|
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