President Moon: "Yeondeunghoe, Proud to Be Inscribed on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage"

Welcome Message on UNESCO Listing on SNS... "Contributing to Social Unity, Highly Valued for Cultural Significance"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jung-min] "Sharing the joy of Yeondeunghoe's UNESCO inscription."

President Moon Jae-in expressed his joy on social network service (SNS) on the 18th, announcing the inscription of Yeondeunghoe on UNESCO.

President Moon stated, "'Yeondeunghoe' has become a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is proud and joyful news." He explained, "The UNESCO Intangible Heritage Committee highly evaluated our 'Yeondeunghoe' for demonstrating cultural creativity, diversity, and inclusiveness, and for contributing to social unity," adding, "This time, the Yeondeunghoe inscription application was cited as a model case for raising awareness of the importance of intangible heritage."

On the 13th, foreigners are experiencing Buddhist culture by making paper lanterns at the 'Yeondeunghoe Traditional Culture Square' held on Ujeongguk-ro in front of Jogyesa Temple, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

'Yeondeunghoe' is a traditional Korean culture and folk festival that began during the Unified Silla period and has continued for 1,000 years. It started as a Buddhist event but developed into a national festival as voluntary participation by the general public increased around Buddha's Birthday, including rituals such as bathing the Buddha, lantern parades, and closing ceremonies.

President Moon said, "Intangible culture contains the history, life, and identity of our people. When we cherish, preserve, participate in, and pass on our valuable intangible culture, its spirit, historical and cultural value, and artistic value will grow even greater, and the diversity of our culture will develop accordingly."

He emphasized, "Going forward, the government will always strive to widely promote excellent traditional culture in the international community and enhance cultural diversity and creativity. We are the third-largest country in the world with twenty-one Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity. On this occasion, I want to remember our proud cultural heritage together with the people."

Meanwhile, the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity inscribed by UNESCO include 'Jongmyo Jeryeak (2001)', 'Pansori (2003)', 'Gangneung Danoje (2005)', 'Ganggangsullae, Namsadang Nori, Yeongsanjae, Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut, Cheoyongmu (2009)', 'Gagok, Daemokjang, Falconry (2010)', 'Taekkyeon, Jultagi, Hansan Mosi Weaving (2011)', 'Arirang (2012)', 'Kimjang Culture (2013)', 'Nongak (2014)', 'Juldarigi (2015)', 'Jeju Haenyeo Culture (2016)', 'Ssireum (Inter-Korean, 2018)', and 'Yeondeunghoe (2020)'.