North Korea Submits Sole Application to UNESCO for Intangible Cultural Heritage Listing of 'Taekwondo'

It was recently revealed that North Korea independently applied for Taekwondo to be registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

According to the UNESCO website on the 9th, North Korea submitted an application to the UNESCO headquarters in March this year for the registration of "Traditional Martial Art Taekwondo of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

List of North Korea's applications as announced on the UNESCO homepage. Photo by UNESCO homepage capture

Applications for registration as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity must be submitted by the end of March each year. The evaluation body under the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Intangible Heritage Committee) assesses the significance, value, and transmission status of the intangible heritage, based on which the registration decision is made. Accordingly, the registration decision for Taekwondo, applied for by North Korea, is expected to be made in 2026.

Currently, North Korea holds a total of four Intangible Cultural Heritage registrations: Arirang (2013), Kimchi Making (2014), Ssireum (2018, jointly registered by South and North Korea), and the Pyongyang Naengmyeon custom (2022). In the case of Ssireum, both South and North Korea pursued registration separately but succeeded in registering jointly after diplomatic efforts led to a joint registration request letter submitted to UNESCO.

The Cultural Heritage Administration released a statement on the same day, saying, "Being registered first or applying for registration first in the Intangible Cultural Heritage does not grant exclusive monopoly rights." The Administration explained, "The government has neither discussed nor pursued joint registration of Taekwondo between South and North Korea," and added, "We will support in consultation with Taekwondo-related organizations according to domestic procedures."