A Study on Seeking a Multilateral Cooperation Framework for the Inter-Korean Exchange of Intangible Cultural Heritage - Through a Multinational Nomination of a Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity -

Since the inauguration of the Kim Jong-un regime in 2012, the safeguarding and management system ofcultural heritage in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been changing to a form similar tothat of a democratic country s legal system. In addition, the National Authority for the Protection of CulturalHeritage (NAPCH) has continuously recorded and cataloged intangible cultural heritage elements in the DPRK,listing Arirang, kimchi-making, and ssireum on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative List. Inparticular, the multinational nomination of ssireum in October 2018 is symbolic in terms of inter-Korean exchangesand cooperation for peace and reconciliation, raising expectations for the further multinational nomination of thetwo Koreas intangible cultural heritage.Currently, South Korea lists 20 items on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,three of which are shared by various countries with multinational nominations such as falconry, tug-of-war, andssireum. However, when comparing the process of applying for multinational nomination in the three elements thatfollow, it is necessary to discuss whether these cases reflect the nature of multinational nomination. In particular, inthe case of ssireum, without a working-level consultation between the two Koreas to prepare an application for amultinational nomination, each applied for a single registration; these applications were approved exceptionally as amultinational nomination by the Intergovernmental Committee under the leadership of the Secretary-General ofUNESCO, and no bilateral exchanges have taken place until now. This is symbolic, formal, and substantially similarto the individual listings in terms of the spirit of co-listing on the premise of mutual exchange and cooperation.Therefore, the only way to strengthen the effectiveness of the multinational nomination between the two Koreasand to guarantee the spirit of multinational nomination is to request multilateral co-registration, including the twoKoreas. For this, the Korean government needs a strategic approach, such as finding elements for multilateral colisting;accumulating expertise, capabilities, and experience as a leading country in multilateral co-listing; and building cooperative governance with stakeholders. Besides, to reduce the volatility of inter-Korean cultural exchanges andcooperation depending on political situations and the special nature of inter-Korean relations, measures should betaken toward achieving inter-Korean cultural heritage exchanges and cooperation under a multilateral cooperationsystem using UNESCO, an international organization.