The 2026 Andong International Maskdance Festival will feature a dedicated World Mask Exhibition and an East Asia Story Theater within the festival’s East Asia Zone, according to the Andong city government.
Scheduled to run from September 24 to October 4, 2026, at the Andong Maskdance Park, the initiative forms part of the 2026 East Asia Cultural City project. The programming brings together traditional masks, shadow plays, and puppet performances from South Korea, China, and Japan.
World Mask Exhibition Features 500 Artifacts
The World Mask Exhibition showcases traditional masked dance cultures through relief-style displays of masks used in Korea’s Hahoe Byeolsin Gut Talnori, China’s Nuoxi and Peking opera, and Japan’s Noh theater. Alongside these traditional forms, the exhibition displays roughly 500 global masks from the collection of the International Mask Arts and Culture Organization (IMACO).
Organizers constructed the exhibition space using a 3.5-meter-tall tower structure paired with traditional Korean mulberry paper (hanji) walls to create an immersive, multi-dimensional layout for visitors.
East Asia Story Theater Hosts Puppet and Shadow Plays
The East Asia Story Theater presents a rotating schedule of shadow plays and puppet performances from the three nations, alongside historical puppets used in domestic South Korean productions. On September 26, performances ran from 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM, featuring China’s shadow puppet show Journey to the West: Three Beatings of the White Bone Demon, Japan’s puppet show Rolling Rolling!, and Korea’s shadow play The Rabbit and the Tortoise. Each show ran twice for a total of six performances.
Seating for the theater is capped at 60 people per show, divided equally between 30 advance reservations and 30 on-site walk-ins. Following each performance, organizers host a trivia quiz where correct respondents win a Momcaturi character doll.
Interactive Workshops and Robot Mask Play
Beyond the exhibitions and theater, the festival grounds host robot mask performances and hands-on children’s programs. Daily sessions running from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM allow visitors to craft East Asia-themed keycaps and traditional toys known as seulangyi for a 3,000 KRW materials fee per program, handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
“We designed this program so that visitors can enjoy the traditional masks, shadow plays, and puppet arts of Korea, China, and Japan through exhibitions, performances, and hands-on activities,” an Andong city official stated.
Detailed scheduling and reservation information is available on the official 2026 East Asia Cultural City Andong website, or by contacting the Andong city cultural department.
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