ABOUT INSUN PARK & GENERALS

Experience a groundbreaking fusion of rock, Korean traditional music, and mask dance rhythms with Insun Park & Generals. A master of the Gangnyeong Mask Dance, designated as Korea’s National Intangible Heritage, Park leads the quartet, blending her dynamic vocal and dance performances with the talents of Donghyuk Heo (composer/guitar), Hyunmo Yang (drums), Johyun Kim (taepyeongso/flute), and Hahyungki Baek (bass guitar). Together, they create a dynamic blend of ancestral art and contemporary sound, seamlessly merging traditional rhythms with modern rock influences. This ensemble pushes creative boundaries, offering a fresh perspective on Korea’s cultural heritage while making traditional mask dance more accessible to today’s audiences.

Insun Park stands out as one of the few female masters of the Gangnyeong Mask Dance, a tradition historically dominated by men. Renowned for her innovative spirit, she reimagines age-old songs and performance styles to connect with modern audiences. Continuously exploring new creative directions, Park has become a leading force in shaping the future of Korean traditional performing arts.

ABOUT INSUN PARK

Insun Park is a Seoul based mask dancer redefining Korean traditional performance through solo works that bridge ritual, social critique, and contemporary expression. A practitioner of Gangnyeong Talchum, a form of Korea’s National Intangible Heritage, she began training in elementary school and later studied traditional performance at university. Though rooted in a centuries old form, her artistic voice has developed in dialogue with modern urban life.

Traditionally, mask dance (talchum) combined rhythm, song, movement, and dialogue into a comprehensive art form known as yeonhui. While its satire of aristocrats offered audiences catharsis, female and disabled characters were often reduced to stereotypes. Park’s work critically engages this legacy, asking how tradition can be preserved while also responding to contemporary values of gender equity and social inclusion.

Her major solo project, The Purpose of Mask Dance (2021), explores how mask dance can remain socially meaningful today. In this work, female characters lead the narrative as witty, confident, and self determined figures rather than caricatures. Performing as a one woman ensemble, dancing, singing, playing janggu (Korean drum), and shifting roles through masks, Park transforms a historically male and group based genre into a space for personal and social reflection.

In 2023, she expanded this vision through her band Insun Park & Generals, an innovative quintet fusing rock music, Korean traditional sounds, and mask dance rhythms. Led by Park, the ensemble includes Donghyuk Heo (composer and guitar), Hyunmo Yang (drums), Johyun Kim (taepyeongso and flute), and Hahyeonggi Baek (bass guitar). Together, they merge ancestral timbres with modern rock instrumentation, creating a bold, genre crossing soundscape that makes mask dance more accessible to global audiences while expanding its artistic boundaries.

“Insun Park & Generals are unlike anything I’ve ever seen — a joyous and genre-defying explosion of song and dance”

— James Taylor, Program Director, The Cedar Cultural Center

“A stunning voice, charismatic stage presence, and a versatile, ass-kicking rock band… they transfixed the audience from the first note.”

— Bill Bragin, Executive Artistic Director, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi

“Insun Park had the best stage presence of the night, twirling, jumping, and singing her heart out.”

— NYS Music

“An amalgam of trad folk tunes, ancient shamanistic mask ritual, and punkish rock.”

— World Music Central

“South Korean band Insun Park & Generals delivered a fun yet enigmatic fusion of shamanic ritual folk songs and modern rock… culturally significant and deeply celebratory.”

— Earmilk

Photos by Will Ragozzino and Robert Michaelson