Bangudae petroglyphs and the origins of theater

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Bangudae petroglyphs and the origins of theater

Published: 30 Jul. 2025, 00:05 Updated: 30 Jul. 2025, 09:08

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Kim Myung-hwa

The author is a playwright and director.

The heat is relentless. As temperatures soar, even trade negotiations over tariffs feel like they are simmering. It makes one wonder if a brief escape to the prehistoric era, six millennia ago, might offer some relief.

News arrived that petroglyphs in Ulsan have been added to the Unesco World Heritage list. The sites are the Bangudae and Cheonjeon-ri petroglyphs in Daegok-ri, Eonyang-eup, in Ulju County, Ulsan. Bangudae is particularly notable as the oldest known depiction of whale hunting in prehistoric art. It also serves as a marker for the emergence of maritime hunting cultures along the North Pacific Rim.

The Bangudae Petroglyphs in Daegok-ri, Ulju County, Ulsan, are submerged on July 19 as the water level at Sayeon Dam rose due to heavy rainfall (right). The left photo shows the same view of the petroglyphs on July 3. [YONHAP]

I once visited Bangudae years ago. After a simple drink of makgeolli (Korean rice wine) in a small farm hut, I wandered past rocks imprinted with pterosaur footprints, as if stepping back in time. Across the stream lay a “lost world,” a 6,000-year-old ecological map carved with herds of whales and terrestrial animals.

The feeling was difficult to name. These petroglyphs, carved in an age without writing, were the work of prehistoric artisans — artists, in today’s terms. Standing there felt like meeting the very source of art itself.

What captured me most was the large face shape in the lower left corner. Interpretations vary, but to me it resembled a mask used in rituals to invoke the power of the whale totem. In ancient cultures, masks embodied supernatural forces, and as societies secularized, masks became the symbols of theater. Most classical theater traditions, from Greek tragedies to Asian performing arts, trace their roots to masked performance. In Bangudae, I unexpectedly encountered what felt like the origin of our own theater.

Visitors view the Bangudae Petroglyphs reborn as lacquer art at Seounam Janggyeonggak of Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan on May 9, 2021. The exhibition presents lacquer reinterpretations of Ulsan’s Bangudae Petroglyphs (National Treasure No. 285) and the Cheonjeon-ri Petroglyphs (National Treasure No. 147), created over three years by Ven. Seongpa, the abbot of Tongdosa. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

Today, the petroglyphs face a quieter but persistent threat. The Sayeon Dam on the lower Banggu Stream periodically submerges the carvings, and this summer’s monsoon rains have again left them underwater. It is humbling to recall that the creators of these engravings were Stone Age people who hunted massive whales with the simplest tools.

To preserve this prehistoric masterpiece, modern Korea must muster wisdom and commitment. Allowing the carvings to erode under seasonal flooding would dishonor the ingenuity and daring of those ancestors. Their silent gallery, etched into stone, remains a vivid link between survival, belief, and the earliest stirrings of human performance.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.