전북특별자치도 무형문화유산 제44호 ‘한량무’ 보유자인 김무철 씨가 지난 28일 별세했다. 향년 56세.

1970년 전주에서 태어난 고 김무철 명무는 전북 춤의 대가 금파 김조균 선생의 아들로, 어릴 때부터 부친에게 한량무를 사사하며 예술의 길에 들어섰다. 한량무는 풍류를 즐기는 한량의 멋과 흥, 해학을 몸짓으로 표현한 춤으로, 고인은 이 춤의 정수를 계승했다.

전주 동암고등학교와 우석대학교 무용학과를 졸업하고 같은 대학원에서 석사과정을 마친 그는 이론과 실기를 겸비한 전통춤 전문가로 평가받았다. 2011년 전북 무형유산 제44호 한량무 보유자로 지정된 이후에는 전북예총 전문위원, 전북문화예술단체지원사업 평가위원, 전북도립국악원 학예연구사 등을 역임하며 지역 무용계의 발전에 이바지했다.

또한 (사)금파춤보존회 금파무용단 예술총감독으로 활동하며 부친의 예술세계를 잇고, 전통춤의 전승과 창조적 계승에 헌신했다.

그의 예술적 뿌리인 금파 김조균 선생은 권번에서 예기와 한량을 지도한 명무 정자선·정형인 부자에게 사사하며 남무, 삼현승무, 한량무, 호적구음살풀이춤, 전주검무 등을 익힌 인물로, 전북무용협회 회장과 전주시립민속예술단 무용부감, 전북도립국악원 교수 등을 지내며 전북 춤의 기반을 다졌다.

Kim Muchul, the holder of the 44th intangible cultural asset 'Hanryangmu' in Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, passed away on the 28th. He was 56 years old.

Born in Jeonju in 1970, the late Kim Muchul, also known as Myeongmu, was the son of Kim Jogyun, a master of Jeonbuk dance, and from a young age, he followed his father in learning Hanryangmu, entering the path of art. Hanryangmu is a dance that expresses the elegance, vigor, and playfulness of a Hanryang, a lover of entertainment, through movements, and the deceased inherited the essence of this dance.

After graduating from Jeonju Dongam High School and the Department of Dance at Woosuk University, and completing the master's course at the same university, he was recognized as a traditional dance expert with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Since being designated as the holder of the 44th intangible cultural asset 'Hanryangmu' in Jeonbuk in 2011, he contributed to the development of the local dance community by serving as a specialist member of the Jeonbuk Arts Council, an evaluation committee member for Jeonbuk Cultural and Arts Organization Support Projects, and a research fellow at the Jeonbuk National Gugak Center.

Furthermore, he dedicated himself to the preservation and creative succession of traditional dance by serving as the artistic director of the Kimpa Dance Company of the Kimpa Dance Preservation Society, continuing his father's artistic legacy.

His artistic roots, Kim Jogyun, guided Ye-gi and Hanryang at Kwonbeon, and taught dance to prominent figures such as Jeong Ja-seon and Jeong Hye-in, who learned dances like Nammu, Samhyeonseungmu, Hanryangmu, Hojeokgu-eumsalpuri dance, and Jeonju Geommu, laying the foundation of Jeonbuk dance while serving as the president of Jeonbuk Dance Association, the head of the dance department at Jeonju City Folk Arts Troupe, and a professor at Jeonbuk National Gugak Center.