[1] The dances also feature drama and story, as masked characters portray people, animals, and even supernatural beings.

It is a theory that the origin of the masquerade is the agricultural consciousness held by farmers for good farming since ancient times.

According to the theory of agricultural consciousness, masks made by imitating the face of God were gradually changed into masks that resemble humans, and Gut to magically solve conflicts with nature was transformed into an artistic expression of social conflicts, resulting in a masquerade.

The conversion of the Nongak band into a musician or the fact that the audience of the masquerade intervenes in the progress of the play are considered traditions that come down from the stage of Seonang-gut.

It is a theory that instrumental music (伎), which was learned by Baekje man Mimaji (味摩) in the Southern Dynasties of China and passed it on to Japan, is the origin of masquerade.

It was even performed in the royal court—during the Goryeo period, the Office of Masked-Dance Drama (Sandae Togam) supervised such dances.

However, looking at the article "Bibigo Literature" and "Hwangchangrangmu (黃昌郞舞)", it is questionable whether a mask was used even at the time of Silla when these two plays occurred.

In any case, Cheoyongmu must be seen as one of the magical and 呪術 dances of ancient society based on the legend of Cheoyong that occurred at the end of the Silla Dynasty.

Mask dance dramas share fundamental characteristics but vary considerably according to region and performer.

Basic themes include exorcism rites, ritual dances, satire, parody of human weaknesses, social evils, and the elites.

They appeal to the audiences by ridiculing apostate Buddhist monks, decadent upper-class men, and shamans.

The beopgonori tells a joke about a man and a woman taking off their clothes with a law school in their neck.

[4] The third section is a Sadang dance (사당춤) performed by seven masters (거사, Geo-sa), and appears in a shrine decorated with splendor.

The dance shows the satire of a Buddhist monk who was praised as a living Buddha by Somu (소무, So-moo),[5] a pub girl, or a concubine.

An old man named Namgang appears and calls a shaman to perform a Jin-Ogwi rite (진오귀굿).

[7] In Gangneung Gwanno Gamyeon'geuk,[definition needed] they are associated with fertility and the summer transplanting season, dancing, wearing clothes that bear the color of tilled earth, and decorated in rice seedlings as well as seaweed.