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| "Nongak," Korean traditional farmers' music and dance, made its way into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s list of intangible cultural heritages Friday, becoming Korea's 17th cultural heritage included on the list. / Korea Times file |
By Kwon Ji-youn
"Nongak," a form of traditional Korean farmers' music and dance, has been recognized for its celebration of community spirit through music, with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adding it to a list of intangible cultural heritages on Friday.
According to the Korean government, UNESCO inscribed nongak as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity when the international body's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage met in Paris from Nov. 24-28.
Nongak, which became Korea's 17th cultural heritage included on the UNESCO list, is a form of traditional peasant music, usually performed in an open area of the village with drums and gongs combined with dancing and acrobatics.
There are five types of nongak, each characterized by a unique representation of regional culture such as rhythms, costumes, instruments and performance philosophy _ Jinju Samcheonpo nongak from South Gyeongsang Province; Pyeongtaek nongak from Gyeonggi Province; Iri nongak from North Jeolla Province; Gangneung nongak from Gangwon Province; and Imsil Pilbong nongak from North Jeolla Province.
According to UNESCO, the music, defined by its independent, open and creative succession, has given performers and audiences a sense of cultural identity.
The addition of nongak to the UNESCO list will boost its exposure and visibility as an intangible cultural heritage worldwide, and will increase exchange among communities in and outside Korea.
The government announced in October that the inscription was likely after a recommendation by members of a subsidiary body that makes preliminary deliberations for the November meeting. North Korean versions of the folk song "Arirang" were also recommended.
Once an application is filed, a heritage can be recommended for induction, referred or denied inscription. A recommendation usually implies that UNESCO will adopt it as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
The six North Korean versions of "Arirang" were also added to the list ― the North's first inscription to the list. The South Korean "Arirang" was inscribed in 2012.
Korea's proclamations for the inscription of its cultural heritages to the list began in 2001. Official inscriptions began in 2008 with the Royal Ancestral Ritual in the Jongmyo Shrine. In 2013, "gimjang," which refers to the kimchi-making season, was added.
Other Korean cultural heritages on the list include "pansori" (2008), musical storytelling performed by a vocalist and drummer; "ganggangsullae" (2009), a dance performed to bring a bountiful harvest; and "taekkyeon" (2011), a martial art.
UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage lists aim to protect important intangible cultural heritages worldwide, boost awareness of their significance and draw attention to the importance of safeguarding such intangible heritages as repositories of cultural diversity.
The lists include the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the shorter List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
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