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This research aims to examine the changes in modern Korean dance from 1894, the year of Gabo Reform, to 1945, that of Korean Liberation. According to the meaning of the Korean dance history, this period of 50-odd years was divided into three parts: the birth of modern dance and the stage performance of traditional dance (1894-1918), the introduction of Western dance and new Japanese dance (1919-1927), and the establishment of new dance and modern traditional dance (1928-1945).At the end of the 19th century, Joseon was forced to make Byeongja Defense Treaty (1876) after which foreign cultures of the USA, France, Russia and so on were flooded. Gabo(甲午) Reform in 1894 brought about the end of Joseon’s feudal system, witnessing modern cultural movement in general aspects of society including schools, newspapers, and magazines. These social phenomena gave an influence on the aspects of Korean dance. Following the collapse of the royal court and the official geisha system, a geisha union was formed. Also, court dance and folk dance, performed for aristocrats and foreign envoys in the past, were open to the masses thanks to the Western-style theater Hyeopryulsa(協律社, 1902). These two kinds of dance came to have different modes and broader social areas. In the wake of the appearance of Western proscenium theaters, traditional dance began to develop as a stage art. Master Han Seong-jun(韓成俊) recreated and classified Joseon’s traditional dance. Professional dance writers appeared to level up the status of dancers. The original stage for court dance and folk dance was replaced by a modern stage. Bae Gu-ja(裵龜子) from Denkas(덴카스) Circus presented a creative dance first time in Korea at Seoul Public Theater in 1928. She established Oriental Theater for drama only to contribute to the development of modern drama. After the Seoul performance of Ishii Baku in 1932, his students Choi Seung-hee(崔承喜) and Jo Taek-won(趙澤元) created their own worlds of new dance to make Korean dance global.In sum, modern Korean dance can be classified into four kinds: traditional dance of Han Seong-jun, new dance of Choi Seung-hee and Jo Taek-won, circus dance of Bae Gu-ja, and Gwonburn(券番) dance of Korean gisaeng or geisha.