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Seoul eyes joint Unesco bid with Pyongyang to list taekwondo as shared heritage

Published: 19 Jan. 2026, 11:48 Updated: 19 Jan. 2026, 18:05

Korean Taekwondo athlete Kwak Min-ju, right, competes against an opponent during a match at the 2025 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge at Hua Mak Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Nov. 23, 2025. [WORLD TAEKWONDO]

South Korea aims to join forces with North Korea to seek Unesco recognition for the traditional martial art of taekwondo as a shared intangible cultural heritage, sources said Monday.

The Cultural Heritage Committee, an advisory body to the Korea Heritage Service (KHS), has selected taekwondo as the next candidate for a joint or expanded inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during a recent meeting, according to the KHS.

"We plan to apply to the Unesco Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by March," a KHS spokesperson said on condition of anonymity.

The move comes after Pyongyang submitted its own application in March 2024 to list "Taekwon-Do, traditional martial art in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea." The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is North Korea's official name. A review of the North's bid is currently underway, with a final decision expected during the committee's 21st session in Xiamen, China, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.

If successful, the move would mark the second joint heritage listing between the two Koreas after the ssireum, traditional Korean wrestling, was jointly inscribed in 2018.

For North Korea, taekwondo would become its sixth Unesco intangible heritage item if approved. Its current list includes the "Arirang" folk song (2014), kimchi-making (2015), ssireum (2018), the "Pyongyang Raengmyon custom" (cold noodles) (2022) and the "Custom of Korean costume: traditional knowledge, skills and social practices" (2024).

South Korea currently maintains 23 entries on the Unesco list, ranging from "Jongmyo Jeryeak," majestic orchestral music performed for rituals at a royal Confucian shrine, inscribed in 2001, to the tradition of making fermented soybean sauces, listed as "Knowledge, beliefs and practices related to jang making."

Seoul is also seeking to inscribe the traditional knowledge and skills associated with the production of hanji, or traditional Korean paper, this year. Another candidate, "Ginseng Culture: A Culture of Caring for and Appreciating Nature and Family (Community)," is scheduled for evaluation in 2028.

Yonhap