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\nKim Yu-jin of South Korea (R) battles Nahid Kiani of Iran in the final of the women’s -57-kilogram taekwondo event at the Paris Olympics at Grand Palais in Paris, in this file photo from Aug. 8, 2024. (Yonhap) <\/p>\n
\nKim Yu-jin of South Korea (R) battles Nahid Kiani of Iran in the final of the women’s -57-kilogram taekwondo event at the Paris Olympics at Grand Palais in Paris, in this file photo from Aug. 8, 2024. (Yonhap)
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SEOUL — South Korea aims to join forces with North Korea to seek UNESCO recognition for the traditional martial art of taekwondo as a shared intangible cultural heritage, officials said Monday.<\/p>\n
The Cultural Heritage Committee, an advisory body to the Korea Heritage Service (KHS), has selected taekwondo as the next candidate for a joint or expanded inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during a recent meeting, according to the KHS.<\/p>\n
“We plan to submit an application to the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguard of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by March,” a KHS official said on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
The move comes after Pyongyang submitted its own application in March 2024 to list “Taekwon-Do, traditional martial art in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is North Korea’s official name. A review of the North’s bid is currently under way, with a final decision expected during the committee’s 21st session in Xiamen, China, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.<\/p>\n
If successful, the move would mark the second joint heritage listing between the two Koreas after the traditional Korean wrestling of “ssireum” was jointly inscribed in 2018.<\/p>\n
For North Korea, taekwondo would become its sixth UNESCO intangible heritage item if approved. Its current list includes the “Arirang” folk song (2014), kimchi-making (2015), “ssireum” (2018), the “Pyongyang Raengmyon custom” (cold noodles) (2022) and the “Custom of Korean costume: traditional knowledge, skills and social practices” (2024).<\/p>\n
South Korea currently maintains 23 entries on the UNESCO list, ranging from “Jongmyo Jeryeak,” majestic orchestral music performed for rituals at a royal Confucian shrine, inscribed in 2001, to the tradition of making fermented soybean sauces, listed as “Knowledge, beliefs and practices related to jang making.”<\/p>\n
Seoul is also seeking to inscribe the traditional knowledge and skills associated with the production of “hanji,” or traditional Korean paper, this year. Another candidate, “Ginseng Culture: A Culture of Caring for and Appreciating Nature and Family (Community),” is scheduled for evaluation in 2028.<\/p>\n
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