As it has been virtually confirmed that Taekwondo, the national sport, will be registered as a 'traditional martial art of North Korea' in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, concerns are rising about the impact it will have on Korea's status as a suzerain nation.
According to UNESCO on the 5th, the evaluation body under the Intergovernmental Committee of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage (Intangible Heritage Committee) made a 'recommendation' judgment that North Korea's application for 'Traditional Martial Arts of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Taekwondo' is certain to be registered.
The final decision on whether to register will be made at the 21st Intangible Heritage Committee held in Xiamen, China from the 30th of this month to December 5th, but it is rare for the 'recommendation' to be overturned.
North Korea applied for exclusive registration of Taekwondo with UNESCO in March 2024. At the time, our government did not respond in any way, and after exploring the possibility of joint registration between North and South Korea, it was only at the end of March of this year that a belated application for registration was submitted under the name of ‘Korea’s Dojo Community Training Culture’.
Previously, registration was pursued in 2016, and in 2018, the international Taekwondo sports organizations led by North and South Korea agreed to cooperate in joint registration, but the application was not followed through.
The designation of Taekwondo as a national intangible cultural heritage, which was considered a necessary first step in order to apply for UNESCO registration, was put on hold due to academic controversy over its historicity and legitimacy, and inter-Korean relations were also strained in the meantime, making no further progress.
In 2021, as Kukkiwon formed a special team (TF) for Taekwondo's UNESCO registration and expanded the organization, discussions on registration seemed to be taking shape again, focusing on the Taekwondo world.
However, even after that, it was unable to speed up due to various reasons such as problems in selecting domestic candidates, expectations for joint registration between North and South Korea, and dispersion of the driving force, and eventually the players were lost to North Korea.
On the other hand, North Korea has shown a move that contrasts with ours, including listing the martial arts textbook 'Martial Arts Dobotongji' published during the reign of King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2017.
Although North and South Korea applied for UNESCO registration separately, Taekwondo has one root.
However, in the reality of the division of North and South Korea, they have gone their separate ways for a long time and developed different styles.
Korea developed Taekwondo as a 'sport' centered around the World Taekwondo Federation (WT), distributed it to the world, and even adopted it as an official Olympic sport. The international federation for Taekwondo recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also WT.
North Korea, which leads the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF), has preserved the original form of 'martial arts Taekwondo' by emphasizing the training discipline of traditional martial arts and direct striking techniques using hands and feet.
Established in Seoul in 1966 under the leadership of the late Choi Hong-hee, a former Army major general, the ITF built ties with North Korea by dispatching instructors and traveling back and forth to spread Taekwondo in 1980 after its first president, Choi Hong-hee, went into exile in Canada due to a conflict with the government.
After the death of Choi Hong-hee, the ITF split into several factions each claiming legitimacy, but as the ITF's activities centered on North Korea became more active, the perception that 'ITF is North Korean Taekwondo' arose.
WT and ITF Taekwondo have differences not only in the basic framework of sparring and poomsae, but also in terminology and competition rules.
WT Taekwondo involves fighting barefoot with protective gear worn on the head and body, but ITF Taekwondo involves fighting with gloves and shoes without protection.
Unlike WTF, where you cannot hit the face with your fists, so you attack mainly with your feet, in ITF you can also attack the face with your fists.
The National Heritage Administration emphasizes that even if North Korea lists Taekwondo as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity first, “exclusive rights are not recognized.”
However, while anticipating the effects of UNESCO registration, such as strengthening the status of the home country of Taekwondo, enhancing the international value of Korean culture, revitalizing the Taekwondo industry, developing tourism and the local economy, and transmitting and preserving Taekwondo, criticism for failing to establish appropriate strategies and respond effectively has become inevitable.
It is pointed out that it is also unfortunate that although an international network capable of exerting real influence through globalization had already been established, it was not properly utilized.
There are predictions that North Korea's sole registration will not immediately affect Taekwondo's status as a suzerain country or an Olympic sport, but it may be a burden for Korea in that in the future, North Korea will be able to put UNESCO at the forefront when asserting the history and legitimacy of Taekwondo in the international community.
