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`The Ministry of Communications will issue a series of folklore stamps this year in order to promote the Korean folklore cultures at home and abroad. The theme of the first issue of this series is the mask, one of the most interesting form of our folklores. The mask dancing has its origin in the ancient Shinla Dynasty and was performed by the common people as religious rite or as plays for amusement. Okwangdae Masquerade The 4 Won stamp features Maltooki, one of the five-clowns (Okwangdae), of Tongyong city. The Okwangdae is a folk mask dancing that has been traditionally inherited in South Kyongsang Province and it is known to have orginated from the ``Great Clown``(Dae-Kwangdae) that was once prevalent in Bamma-ri, Chokye, Hapchon-Kun. As to the origin, no further detail is revealed. Today, Okwangdae continues existing only in Choonmu city whose old name was Tongyong. Okwangdae, now in existence as a form of mask dancing, is composed of five act scenes but is believed to be widely different from its original since the plot of every act totally lacks consistency in context. Sandi Masque Dance The mask depicted in the 5 Won stamp is Chuybali, one of the characters appearing in Sandi mask dancing that had been played in Kyonggi Province area during the Lee Dynasty. Sandi mask dancing is classified into Bon-Sandi and Byol-Sandi. The former used to be played on national holidays, festival days such as Buddha`s Birthday in April, Dan-o festival in May and Moon festival in August, or on ritual prayers for rain, while the latter, which is still seen performed in old Yangju town was played all the year round regardless of time. Sandi mask dancing, chiefly a combination of music, dancing and rarely dialogues too, often runs over 10 hours without using any stage settings or aids and touches the commoner`s revolt against the privileged class and the superficial morality privilege of the Lee Dynasty. Hafoe Masque The mask depicted in the 7 Won stamp is mask of a Yangban (the ruling class of the Lee Dynasty) who appears in the Hafoe shaman mask dancing. The dancing was usually performed as religious rite of worshipping the village gods enshrined in the Sungwhang-dang, Kookshin-dang and Samshin-dang in Hafoe village, Andong, Kyongsang Province and its vicinity area. With this background, the Hafoe mask dancing consequently became a play for amusement among the folks. The players all came from the commoners and they were allowed to wisecrack at the Yangban class while they wear on masks. This might well be the one and only opportunity during which they can give out vent to their mortification in everyday life. Originally, the Hafoe mask comprised a total of 12 wood-carved masks and today only 9 of them are in existence. They are designated as national cultural properties by the Government because they are of Koryo Dynasty`s origin and they are the most excellent type of the masks found today.`