T’alch’um, “mask dance,” a.k.a. sandae, yayu, Ogwangdae, t’alnori and tôtpoegi, is a satiric amalgam of music, dance, and dialog illustrating the seriousness of social injustice through the hilarity of caricature. Evolving through several dynasties of strict social hierarchy, Korean mask dance theatre developed as a channel of subversion for the oppressed. The main characters delineated with specific masks and costumes include a half-baked nobleman, a disgraced Buddhist monk, a saucy servant, the lecherous man-wife-concubine trio, and a fickle shamaness/prostitute. The masks are made of gourd, paper, or wood: masks worn in the Yangju sandae tradition are gourd; those in Pongsan t’alch’um are paper machete; the masks worn during Hahoe pyôlshinkut are wood. The performative contexts included the January Full Moon, Buddha’s Birthday, May Day, or the August Full Moon. It was also performed as part of a well-wishing ceremony or exorcism for the community. The performance would begin in the evening by a bonfire, and continue until early next morning. In the case of Pongsan T’alch’um, the masks worn during the play would be burnt at the end, symbolizing the extinguishment of all the troublesome spirits. Outside the venues for traditional performance, t’alch’um’s liminal boundary-breaking, dynamic movements, satiric prowess, and incendiary verbiage are a source of inspiration for many postmodern and radical theatrical productions in Korea.