Korean masks have a long history of various uses. Soldiers wore masks in battles but there were also special masks for horses. Jade and bronze masks were used as funerary masks. Shamans used masks in cleansing rituals to drive away evils spirits from the ill. Masks in the likeness of historical persons were used as a way of honoring them. Koreans also used masks (“tal” in Korean) in ritual dances (talnori) and in theatrical plays (talchum).

There is a theory that says that name “tal” for “mask” comes from Chinese language where it meant “to be free”. Mask were used in theatrical plays that were means of expressing criticism against everything that was considered wrong, like powerful aristocracy, Buddhist hierarchy, corruption, drunkards, gossips and flirts. In a way, they freed people to talk about the things that were by law or socially unacceptable.