Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
President to award certificate to holders of intangible cultural heritage
Samples of presidential certificates awarded to intangible cultural heritage holders and organizations / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration
By Park Ji-won
By Park Ji-won
The Cultural Heritage Administration will start giving out presidential certificates next month in addition to its certifications of people and organizations designated as intangible cultural heritages, to express respect to them for preserving the customs and tradition of Korea. The move came after the administration revised the law on heritage preservation on May 25 which will be implemented on June 23.
Until now, when a person or an organization was designated as a holder of an intangible cultural heritage, the only certificate given was under the name of the administrator of the government organization. The Cultural Heritage Administration said it decided to improve the environment for the preservation of traditional assets by introducing the rule to show more respect to the holders of intangible cultural heritage and improve morale.
The status of intangible cultural heritage has been given by the state-run agency to those who carry great historic, artistic or academic value in the fields of drama, music, dance or craftsmanship.
As of May, 175 people have been designated as living national treasures in Korea, while 70 organizations are also recognized for possessing intangible cultural heritage assets.
The presidential certificate will be given to existing living national treasures and those who are set to be designated as holders of intangible cultural heritage at a ceremony in December this year.