UNESCO Regime and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Korea

This article focuses on the new trend that has emerged throughout Korea’s intangible cultural heritage since the UNESCO regime entered the main orbit.This is to summarize the remarkable aspects of Korea’s intangible cultural heritage in relation to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Representative List system since the early 2000s. There are various aspects, but what I am paying attention to is the following five aspects.These include ‘Expression of Intangible Cultural Heritage ownership and related disputes’ that appeared in the process of listing The Gangneung Danoje Festival, Nongak, Arirang, and Culture of Jeju Haenyeo, ‘Changes in policies related to intangible cultural properties’ such as the enactment of the Act on the Conservation and Promotion of Intangible Cultural Properties , ‘Hierarchical thoughts on intangible cultural heritage’ ranked as intangible cultural heritage of cities and provinces, national intangible cultural heritage and UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage of humanity, ‘Organization of Intangible Cultural Heritage Transmission Community’ in Tugging Rituals and Games, Nongak, and Talchum Transmission Community, and ‘appropriation of intangible cultural heritage as a medium of solidarity and peace’ that appeared in the process of registering Ssireum and Talchum. These are the points of attention that emerged as looking at the time series after the UNESCO system was formed and Korea entered the system. Focusing on these points of attention, I looked at the progress and implications.What I argued through this process is that the influence of the UNESCO system is formidable. I also argue that UNESCO’s orientation and the orientation of each country or local community do not necessarily coincide.Furthermore, I would like to say that the reality is that ‘strengthening the sense of ownership of intangible cultural heritage and cross-border intangible cultural heritage’, ‘fixed and dismantled hierarchical thinking of intangible cultural heritage’, and ‘competition and harmony through intangible cultural heritage’ coexist. And I also added my own opinion on this. I also expressed the view that the coexistence of ideals and reality may be natural, referring to a reality in which different orientations and values coexist, perhaps very different from UNESCO’s.