Entertainment · Books & Arts · 1 hr ago
VANK urges South Korea to recognize more intangible heritage
VANK has launched a campaign in South Korea urging the government to recognize more traditions as national intangible heritage.
The traditions include swing games, traditional weddings, 60th-birthday and wedding-anniversary ceremonies, and haegeum sanjo music.
They remain on a preliminary list, not as independently designated heritage, although South Korea’s heritage agency has said the list could help inform future designations.
China has already designated several of these traditions as national intangible cultural heritage, according to VANK.
VANK says delayed documentation could weaken the case for protecting them internationally, including through UNESCO’s intangible heritage system.
It wants the government to add the traditions to a proposed preservation list, publish designation plans and results, and record the knowledge of people who carry them on.
VANK has urged South Korea to speed up national intangible heritage designation for traditions including swing riding, seesaw jumping, haegeum sanjo and traditional wedding rites.
The group launched its “Our heritage missing from our lists” campaign on October 20.
VANK says China has already designated several of these traditions as national-level intangible heritage, while South Korea has only included them in a basic inventory.
The traditions were not among seven items selected for new designation surveys announced by South Korea’s national heritage agency in January.
VANK called for the traditions to be added to a proposed preservation list and for designation plans and records to be made public.
- Who
- VANK, a cyber diplomatic organization led by Park Ki-tae.
- What
- It urged South Korea to move more traditions toward national intangible heritage designation and launched a campaign.
- When
- October 20, 2026.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- VANK says the traditions remain only in a basic inventory in South Korea, despite some being designated as national-level intangible heritage in China.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
China designated seesaw jumping and swing riding as national-level intangible heritage.
China designated traditional wedding rites and the 60th-birthday celebration rite.
China designated the wedding anniversary rite.
China designated haegeum as national-level intangible heritage.
South Korea’s national heritage agency said the traditions were in a basic inventory and could be used as material for future national intangible heritage designations.
The agency announced seven items for new national intangible heritage designation surveys, and VANK said the traditions were not included.
VANK launched its campaign calling for faster designation of the traditions in South Korea.
- Campaign launch
- October 20, 2026
- Chinese designation
- Seesaw jumping and swing riding, 2006
- South Korean inventory
- Basic list of the Korea Intangible Heritage Comprehensive Survey
- Survey exclusions
- Not among the 7 new designation survey items announced in January 2026
- Proposed action
- Add basic-inventory items to a planned preservation list and publish survey schedules and results
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What people are saying
The basic list is only a list of items to be reviewed someday; it does not protect heritage by itself.
If items the national heritage agency said it would use as material for national intangible heritage designation have not even begun designation surveys, it must respond with concrete plans.
We must protect what is ours first.