‘Taekwondo diplomacy’ back on table as Korea seeks joint UNESCO bid with North

North Korean taekwondo demonstrators perform "pumsae" patterns during an inter-Korean basketball match at a gymnasium in Pyongyang on July 5, 2018. Yonhap

Efforts to register taekwondo as a joint intangible cultural heritage with North Korea at UNESCO are being revived after stalling during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. With the launch of the Lee Jae Myung government, South Korea’s taekwondo community is again pursuing cross-border collaboration on the global stage.

Choi Jae-choon, head of the Korea Taekwondo UNESCO Promotion Committee, told the Hankook Ilbo on Thursday that he plans to formally request permission for inter-Korean contact soon.

He also said he would reopen talks with the Austria-based International Taekwondo Federation (ITF), which is led by North Korea.

“Since 2023, the government has refused to approve contact, and discussions on the joint inscription came to a complete halt,” Choi said. “After hearing that the North had gone ahead and applied independently, it felt like we were surrendering both the chance for cooperation and the symbolic value of taekwondo to Pyongyang.”

Until 2022, Choi had visited ITF headquarters after receiving approval from Seoul’s Unification Ministry. However, talks collapsed in 2023 when Pyongyang revoked the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement and branded South Korea a “hostile separate state,” accusing it of conspiring with foreign forces for regime change.

Choue Chung-won, right, president of World Taekwondo, shakes hands with International Taekwondo Federation President Ri Yong-son during a welcome dinner in Pyongyang in October 2018. Courtesy of World Taekwondo

From wrestlers to warriors

The idea of a joint UNESCO listing for taekwondo was first discussed in 2018, during a thaw in inter-Korean relations. World Taekwondo (WT) President Choue Chung-won signed a joint agreement with ITF President Ri Yong-son in Pyongyang, laying the groundwork for a collaborative effort.

The model was the successful 2018 joint inscription of Korean wrestling (ssireum). Both sides had separately applied — North Korea in 2015 and South Korea in 2016, but after coordinated diplomacy, they agreed to merge bids.

In an unprecedented decision, UNESCO approved the first joint inscription from a divided nation, citing it as a symbol of peace.

Choi had hoped to follow the ssireum model but was blocked by the lack of inter-Korean contact. “The Unification Ministry stopped issuing permits, and the Cultural Heritage Administration (now the Korea Heritage Service) dismissed the idea, citing frozen ties and pre-arranged UNESCO schedules,” he said.

What frustrates advocates most is that cultural and sports exchanges, once seen as low-risk diplomatic channels, have all but disappeared.

Lee Da-bin celebrates after defeating Germany’s Lorena Brandl in the women’s bronze medal match during the 2024 Paris Olympics taekwondo competition at the Grand Palais in Paris. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

Seoul risks losing cultural legitimacy

North Korea, meanwhile, has continued its taekwondo diplomacy. Its demonstration teams regularly perform overseas and it has issued commemorative stamps featuring the martial art.

In 2023, it submitted its own application to UNESCO to inscribe taekwondo as an intangible cultural heritage, a move some in Seoul see as an attempt to claim global cultural ownership of the sport.

“The fear is that if we do nothing, we will lose the chance to assert ourselves as the true home of taekwondo,” said Choi.

The Korea Heritage Service confirmed that talks had stalled. “Unlike in 2018, inter-Korean communication has been virtually nonexistent, which likely affected the process,” an official said. “We were aware of private-level proposals, but it was difficult to proceed without an official North Korean position.”

The agency left the door open for future discussions, saying that if taekwondo is submitted for the next UNESCO cycle in 2026, it will consult with the culture ministry and other related bodies.

Experts agree that Seoul should act soon, not merely for symbolism, but to preserve practical leverage. “If we don’t want to lose the initiative, now is the time to approach the issue realistically,” said Lee Jong-sung, professor of sports industry at Hanyang University. “Even if joint listing doesn’t happen, we must at least prevent North Korea from gaining sole recognition.”

Some caution that a joint bid could reignite old rifts within the taekwondo world. The sport has long been divided between the South-led WT, which governs Olympic taekwondo, and the North-aligned ITF.

Within the ITF itself, multiple factions exist, with the one in Vienna under Ri Yong-son serving as North Korea’s official international conduit.

“Compared to WT, the North’s ITF branch is smaller and less influential,” said Lee Won-jae, a former official with the Korean Olympic Committee. “If there are talks, they should involve the ITF’s various factions to avoid conferring undue legitimacy on one over the others.”

Lee also stressed that while taekwondo’s cultural roots lie in Korea as a whole, the South’s version, recognized by the Olympics, holds broader global influence.

“Rushing into joint registration could end up benefiting Pyongyang disproportionately,” he warned. “A careful, phased approach involving both countries’ Olympic committees might be wiser.”

As diplomatic tensions ease under the Lee Jae Myung administration, taekwondo, long a symbol of Korean pride, may yet again serve as a bridge. But this time, experts say the stakes go beyond unity, touching on ownership, legitimacy and the future of a shared cultural identity.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.