A Study on Nongak/Pungmulgut as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Overseas－Focusing on Japan－

Historically Japan is a country where our culture has been transmitted and changed in early days and its historical and realistic traces still remain and change in many places in Japan. On record it was taken over to Japan from the early periods of Gaya, Baekje, Shilla, Goryeo, Chosun dynasty, Korea under Japan’s colony, and today still in a very close relation with each other. In this regard, Japan is a place in which we can study the transmission and variation of our culture rather concretely.Korea’s Nongak/Pungmulgut has become a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity in November 2014, thus it is not only our traditional cultural art but a world heritage now. In this regard the present paper is to look at the transmission of our Nongak/pumgmulgut overseas focusing on Japan for its possibility of sustainability as an intangible cultural heritage.Today one of the criteria that would make a guess of the current situation of the transmission and development of our Nongak/Pungmulgut to Japan is the fact that it appears in the music texts of elementary 4th grade and middle school as well.First of all, looking at the main body of its transmission to Japan, there is the second generation of Korean residents in Japan and the following third generation also plays the major role transmitting our Nongak/Pungmulgut.The second major body of its transmission is Japanese who are influenced by the second and the third generation of Korean residents in Japan and who live with them. They emerge as the major body of transmitting our Nongak/Pungmulgut to Japan. They are fascinated by the cultural and artistic character of our Nongak/Pungmulgut which is related with the overall Korean culture or arts, therefore it shows us a possibility that our Nongak/Pungmulgut be sustainable in Japan along with the Han waves(Korean Waves).Today our Nongak/Pungmulgut has settled as an interesting foreign performing art for Japanese in Japan over the Korean residents society in Japan and played a major role between them to connect and communicate with each other culturally and artistically in more deep ways. And those Japanese are the major transmitter of our Nongak/Pungmulgut to Japan bringing interest of Korea’s culture and arts to Japan.To examine the kind of our Nongak/Pungmulgut transmitted to Japan, Tokyo, the center of Kwandong region, shows us a variety of Nongak/Pungmulgut except Yeongdong Nongak. Osaka and Kyoto, the center of Kwanseo region, shows us Honam Udo Nongak plays an influential role. Except Kwanseo region in Japan, various Nongak/Pungmulgut has been transmitted and mixed with each other throughout Japan. There also needs to recognize the fact that Nongak/Pungmulgut which is Samulnori type is shown throughout Japan after Kimducksoo’s performance of Samulnori.For Korean residents in Japan Nongak/Pungmulgut plays a role of identifying themselves with Koreans unconsciously or consciously, working as its social and cultural role. In other words, Nongak/Pungmulgut plays a role of activating identity for them as Koreans and it could be sustainable in a very dynamic and artistic way.Nongak/Pungmulgut in Japan could secure cultural and artistic pride for Korean residents in Japan, sublime it artistically, and play a central role of a variety of festivals and cultural events.The pro-north Korean residents in Japan often acquire Korean nationality which results from their impression by Nongak/Pungmulgut’s artistic stimulus and aesthetic possibility. In this regard, there needs to look at Nongak/Pungmulgut as a sustainable heritage for the pro-north Korean residents in Japan.Therefore it is clear that our Nongak/Pungmulgut plays an important role of transmitting the Han waves(Korean Wave) to Japan continuously as a basis of Korean culture and art.