Government Leads in Safeguarding and Transmitting World Intangible Heritage... Contributes 5 Billion KRW to UNESCO

First Fund Established for Intangible Heritage Sector
Efforts Underway to Host the 2026 World Heritage Committee

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 23rd (local time) that it had signed an agreement at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, to contribute to the Intangible Heritage Safeguarding Fund. Going forward, the administration will cooperate with UNESCO to establish an online platform for sharing exemplary cases of safeguarding and transmitting intangible heritage.

The Cultural Heritage Administration will contribute 1 billion KRW annually to the trust fund for five years. This marks the first time that Korea has established a separate fund for the field of intangible heritage at UNESCO. Through exemplary cases of safeguarding and transmitting intangible heritage, the administration aims to raise awareness and take the lead in actively sharing information about intangible heritage.

UNESCO, under the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted in 2003, inscribes intangible heritage from various countries as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to maintain cultural diversity and creativity. Korea currently holds 23 items on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. Among the 184 countries party to the Convention, Korea ranks fourth after China (39 items), T?rkiye (28 items), and France (26 items). Last year, the culture of making and sharing jang?fermented soybean products such as doenjang and ganjang?was also inscribed on the representative list.

The Cultural Heritage Administration is also making efforts to host the World Heritage Committee in 2026. On this day, Commissioner Choi Eungchun met with Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, Assistant Director-General for Culture, and strongly expressed Korea's intention to host the event.

The 46th World Heritage Committee Meeting Venue Overview

The World Heritage Committee is an intergovernmental committee that meets annually to make key decisions regarding the inscription of new World Heritage sites and the monitoring and management of their conservation status. Since its first meeting in Paris, France, in 1977, it has never been held in Korea. In Asia, it has previously been held in Phuket, Thailand (1994), Kyoto, Japan (1998), Suzhou, China (2004), and Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia (2013).