1. At the tenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which took place in Windhoek, Namibia, from November 30 to December 4, the Committee decided to inscribe “Tugging Rituals and Games” on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines jointly applied for its inscription on the Representative List.

o The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, consisting of 24 member states, is an intergovernmental committee which makes a final decision on inscription on the List. The ROK has served as a member of the Committee since 2014.

o With the inscription of “Tugging Rituals and Games,” the ROK now has a total of 18 intangible cultural assets registered as UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

2. The Intergovernmental Committee’s member states placed a high value on the fact that the four countries in the Asia-Pacific region (ROK, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines) cooperated to jointly apply for the inscription, as well as the value of “Tugging Rituals and Games,” one of the representative traditional cultures practiced in rice farming cultures to wish for a rich harvest, as an intangible asset.

3. The “Tugging Rituals and Games” inscribed on the Representative List include six items related to the ROK’s traditional tugging rituals and games designated as intangible cultural heritage by the ROK or its cities and provinces. The Cultural Heritage Administration and related provincial governments, including those of Dangjin and Youngsan, will devise and implement plans to preserve and hand down tugging rituals and games in a systematic manner.

4. As the inclusion of “Tugging Rituals and Games” in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity will bring it to people’s attention around the world and promote its preservation and use, the Foreign Ministry and the Cultural Heritage Administration expects that this will contribute significantly to globalizing the ROK’s cultural heritage and enhancing the country’s image as a cultural powerhouse.


*unofficial translation