Jultagi or eoreum is traditional Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n performance of tightrope-walking. It is included into South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

's Important Intangible Cultural Properties number 58.

Origin

There is no evidence when this acrobatic performance was originated. Some scholars presumed it appeared during Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

 and Goryeo

Goryeo

The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...

 era. It became more famous in Joseon dynasty

Joseon Dynasty

Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...

 era and still exists to this day.

It is different from tightrope-walking style of other countries, because it is usually accompanied by music plays by telling a story to entertain viewers. Jultagi is held on Public holidays in South Korea

Public holidays in South Korea

Public holidays in South Korea each belong to one or more of three categories:*National Celebration Day *National Flag Raising Day *Public Day Off...

 like Daeboreum

Daeboreum

Daeboreum is a Korean holiday that celebrates the first full moon of the new year of the lunar Korean calendar. This holiday is accompanied by many traditions.-Traditions:One familiar custom is to crack nuts with one's teeth...

, Dano and Chuseok

Chuseok

Chuseok , originally known as Hangawi , is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox...

 holidays. Korean folk village

Korean Folk Village

Korean Folk Village is a living museum type of tourist attraction in the city of Yongin, a satellite city in the Seoul Metropolitan Area in the province of Gyeonggi in South Korea....

 in Seoul also presents this play to entertain tourists. It was also performed in events held in the royal palace, banquets of high-ranking government officers or village festivals. The tightrope walking performance is composed of a rope player, a clown and musical instrument players.

An example of these plays can be seen in the movie The King and the Clown.

Technique

There are more than 40 kinds of Jultagi techniques including a walking on a tight rope as the basic motion, a reversed walking on it, leaping with one foot on it, sitting and lying on it, and sometimes pretending to fall down. Another elaborate tightrope walking trick is jumping up after kneeling on the tightrope with one knee and then landing on the rope in a cross-legged sitting position.
Some expert tightrope walkers can jump forward while standing on the rope without falling.