South Korea plans joint taekwondo UNESCO bid following North Korea

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The Korean martial art taekwondo could be added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a joint heritage of both North and South Korea, Yonhap reported.

According to media reports, North Korea applied to register taekwondo in 2024, while South Korea’s Cultural Heritage Committee has selected it as a candidate for joint or expanded UNESCO listing and plans to submit its application by March.

As of now, there is one joint listing by the Koreas: ssireum, traditional Korean wrestling. North Korea has five listings, while South Korea has 23, including the traditional folk song «Arirang,» which appears separately for each country.

The final decision for Pyongyang’s submission is scheduled for the 21st regular session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Xiamen, China, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.

Separately, Kazakhstan has 14 inscribed elements on the list, of which eight are shared with other countries. Notably, one of the shared entries, «Falconry, a living human heritage,» is also shared with South Korea.