“The previous government did not respond in any particular way”… National Heritage Office’s excuse for ‘Taekwondo’

As it becomes clear that Taekwondo will be listed first as North Korea's UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity), there are concerns that the value and history of South Korea's national flag will be taken away.

Just because something is registered with UNESCO first does not mean that exclusive rights are recognized.

However, even though discussions have continued for a long time, it is pointed out that North Korea has been negligent in protecting the identity of intangible cultural heritage and promoting its value, as it applied for registration two years after it was submitted.

The evaluation body under the Intergovernmental Committee (Intangible Heritage Committee) of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage recommended in an official report on the 5th that North Korea's application for 'Traditional Martial Arts of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Taekwondo' be 'listed' in the Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Looking at past cases, there has never been a case where the evaluation body's decision to recommend registration was overturned.

In March of this year, the plan to pursue joint registration or expanded registration between South and North Korea by submitting a registration application under the title 'Taekwondo: Korea's Dojang Community Training Culture' was virtually aborted.

The National Heritage Administration stated its position, saying, “We communicated with related ministries such as the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, interviewed UNESCO officials, and requested support for joint registration, but in reality, the situation has become difficult.”

As a suzerain country, there have been consistent claims that Taekwondo should be added to the list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Taekwondo, based on traditional martial arts culture, has spread to Asia, Europe, and the United States since the 1960s, and is recognized as an official event in the Asian Games and Olympics.

In 2016, during the Park Geun-hye administration, there was a movement to promote UNESCO registration, and since then, voices have continued, led by Taekwondo organizations and academia, that North and South Korea should jointly pursue registration.

However, North Korea independently submitted an application for registration to UNESCO in March 2024, and the government only submitted an application for registration of Korean Taekwondo in March of this year.

The application was made late only after the Taekwondo registration evaluation submitted by North Korea had progressed to a significant level.

At the time of application, the National Heritage Administration said, "We hope for the second joint registration between South and North Korea, following the first joint registration of Ssireum by North and South Korea in 2018," but the prevailing view among academic circles was that it would not be easy.

An official who has participated in intangible heritage research and research for over 20 years pointed out, "Ssireum was reviewed for registration in both North and South Korea, but there is a significant difference in the evaluation procedures and processes for Taekwondo."

He said, “Considering the circumstances, the overall view was that joint registration was impossible in the current situation,” and pointed out, “It is the National Heritage Administration’s ‘show’ style administration that it did its best.”

The results of the review of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity applied by North and South Korea were first announced through social networking services (SNS) three days before UNESCO's official announcement.

On the 2nd of this month, Heo Min, head of the National Heritage Administration, announced in advance through his

Commissioner Heo seemed to be aware of North Korea's sole registration of Taekwondo and explained, "Due to various circumstances, including the current inter-Korean relationship, 'joint registration' is expected to be difficult in fact at this point."

The evaluation body that reviews the possibility of listing as intangible cultural heritage consists of six experts elected through committee elections and representatives of six non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

As the results of the review serve as the 'standard' for listing the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, they have been made public after the evaluation body submitted a report to the committee and UNESCO officially announced it.

Multiple officials pointed out that since the system was launched in 2003, there has been no case where the head of the National Heritage Administration has announced the results in advance.

An expert in the field of intangible cultural heritage who requested anonymity said, “This is the first time that the head of a government agency has made the results public before the official report is released,” and added, “It appears that they were conscious of Taekwondo.”

In relation to this, Ahn Ho, a spokesperson for the National Heritage Administration, explained in a text message, "We have decided to inform you of the difficulties in the government's role in relation to the joint registration of Taekwondo (South and North Korea)."

As criticism surrounding North Korea's sole registration of Taekwondo continued, the National Heritage Administration issued explanatory materials on the 4th and placed responsibility on the Yoon Seok-yeol government, saying, "It is regrettable that the previous government did not respond in any particular way or take effective measures (when North Korea submitted its application for registration)."

He emphasized, “Last year, we went through a very difficult process of bringing together the five major domestic Taekwondo organizations to closely consult and coordinate opinions.”

The National Heritage Administration commented, “We reached a dramatic agreement under the leadership of Commissioner Heo Min. Based on this, we were able to submit an application for registration of Korean Taekwondo in March of this year.”

He added, "Regardless of the results of the UNESCO review, we will make every effort to ensure that Taekwondo, the national sport of the Republic of Korea, is registered alone or expanded on the Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity."

However, after submitting the application in March of this year, the National Heritage Administration did not disclose the specific process, such as what kind of consultation it had with North Korea or UNESCO for joint registration.

Whether or not North Korea's Taekwondo, including Taekwondo, will be listed as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity this year will be confirmed in China next month.

Commissioner Heo Min pledged to invite North Korea to the 48th World Heritage Committee held in Busan this year, but this did not happen, and plans to jointly register Taekwondo also became difficult.