UNESCO Intangible Heritage Committee Closes… North Korea’s ‘Joseon Attire Custom’ Also Listed
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Yena = A total of 66 new elements have been added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, including Korea’s jang (fermented sauce) culture.
According to the Cultural Heritage Administration on the 9th, the 19th UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Paraguay inscribed 61 new elements on the Representative List (including 3 items transferred between lists), 2 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, and 3 as Best Practices.
As a result, since the list was first established in 2008, the total number of inscribed heritage items on the Representative List has reached 788.
The ‘jang culture’, which involves fermenting soybeans to make and share foods like doenjang (soybean paste) and ganjang (soy sauce), was globally recognized as heritage this year. The committee praised this tradition, stating that “jang reflects family identity and promotes solidarity among family members,” and that “through these communal activities, it fosters peace and a sense of belonging within the community.”
Additionally, North Korea’s traditional clothing-making and wearing practices, referred to collectively as ‘Joseon Attire Custom: Traditional Knowledge, Techniques, and Social Practices of North Korea,’ were newly inscribed this year.
Other elements inscribed alongside include China’s ‘Spring Festival, Social Practices of the Chinese New Year’s Celebration,’ Japan’s ‘Traditional Sake Brewing Skills Using Koji (fermented koji mold),’ and Thailand’s ‘Tom Yam Kung.’
Remarkably, Kazakhstan’s ‘Betashar, Traditional Wedding Ceremony,’ which had previously received an ‘information complementation’ judgment from the evaluation body (inscription deferred), was finally inscribed after discussions.
A representative from the Cultural Heritage Administration explained, “Following last year’s 18th intergovernmental committee meeting, all heritage items under review have consecutively been inscribed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.”
The next meeting is scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India, from December 8 to 13, 2025.
South Korea, along with countries like China, is classified as a nation with a substantial number of intangible cultural heritage items, undergoing evaluation for inscription every two years. The next candidate for inscription, ‘The Traditional Knowledge, Skills, and Cultural Practices of Hanji Making,’ is aiming for inscription in 2026.