Face Facts

I love the different masks you find in countries all over the world, and I always try to buy one when I visit a new country. Korea is no exception, and has some great examples, some of which now reside on the walls of my home.

There are dozens of styles of Korean masks and different dances or ceremonies that go with them. Many different regions have their own unique examples - in some cases a particular style belongs to just a single small village.
The masks range from fairly realistic to outlandish and monstrous. Some are large, brightly-painted circles with big features, whilst others are oval or triangular with long pointed chins, cut from plain wood.

There is some fantastic information on Korean masks here, where you can scroll through ten brief but concise pages explaining the history and uses of traditional masks in Korea, with some great pictures too.
I found the recovery of a 400 year old missing 'hahoe' mask, stolen by Japanese invaders all those years ago particularly interesting.