A Study on the Utilization of Biocultural Diversity in the Island and Coastal Region of the Southwestern Sea and the Extensibility of Folk Knowledge

The wisdom of life and cultural genetics held by ordinary people who have effectively used biocultural resources can be referred to as ‘folk knowledge’. Folk knowledge is a shared resource traditionally used by the community, and, in modern society, folk knowledge has a material value no different from intellectual property or goods. The present study compares and examines the concepts of traditional knowledge, transmitted knowledge, and indigenous knowledge with that of folk knowledge, and deals with folk knowledge as an intangible heritage capable of contributing to the sustainable advancement of the human race. In order to describe the somewhat unfamiliar concept of biocultural diversity in the folklore studies field, the researcher retroactively examined international discourses on bio diversity and cultural diversity. The study enhances the necessity of finding bio diversity and linguistic diversity and the value of utilizing folk knowledge as a knowledge resource. The study discusses the necessity and justification of folk knowledge preservation on the basis of the issue of resource security regarding genetic resource access and profit sharing in the international community. Also, the study takes note of biocultural area procurement, which becomes the grounds for the identity and cultural creativity of island and coastal residents, as well as folk knowledge as its source, and examines the extensibility and utility of folk knowledge.