Sustainable Development and Korea’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Policy

In September 2015, the United Nations (UN) has adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a goal of the international community to push forward from the year 2016 to 2030. Accordingly, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) has established a new chapter on sustainable development and intangible heritage the through revision of the Operational Directives for the Implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.Although Sustainable development is a fundamental principle of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, it is believed that the Convention has not provided guidelines of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development. The Operational Directives provide States Parties with guidelines on the integration of sustainable development and safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage.Intangible Cultural Property Institution of South Korea was designed to preserve the traditional culture in the economic development process of the industrialization since the 1960s. The institution played a role of cultural support on the development of the modern concepts. Now South Korea should implement intangible cultural heritage policy combined with sustainable development while succeeding the efforts from the former development.This study examines the meaning of sustainable development and how it should be implemented in the intangible cultural heritage policy in South Korea. And this study suggests that the South Korea’s intangible cultural heritage policy should foster sustainable development particularly along with social development and human development.