1. A subsidiary body of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which consists of related experts and makes preliminary deliberations, recommended “Kimjang: making and sharing Kimchi” for inscription through UNESCO’s website on October 21.

o The subsidiary body evaluated a total of 31 nominations for inscription on UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The body recommended to the Committee to “inscribe” 23 elements, to “refer” 1 element to the submitting State for additional information, and “not to inscribe” 7 elements.

2. The final decision on whether to inscribe “Kimjang: making and sharing Kimchi” on UNESCO’s list will be made at the eighth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on December 2-8.

o The ROK currently has 15 cultural elements on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, including royal ancestral ritual in the Jongmyo shrine and its music, Pansori epic chant, Ganggangsullae (a seasonal harvest and fertility ritual), Gangneung Danoje festival and Arirang (lyrical folk song). If “Kimjang: making and sharing Kimchi” makes it to the list in December, it will bring the total number of Korean intangible cultural assets on the list to 16.

3. If “Kimjang: making and sharing Kimchi” is inscribed, the element to be inscribed is not the “Kimchi recipe,” but the culture of “making and sharing Kimchi,” intangible cultural heritage which symbolizes Koreans’ sharing and community culture in preparation for the winter.

o In this regard, with the final decision on inscription to be made in December, UNESCO asked the ROK to be careful not to wrongly understand that “Kimchi recipe” is the element to be inscribed, causing commercial exploitation and distorting the true nature of the inscription system.

4. What to be listed as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is generally not decided by voting but by consensus among 24 member states at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (once a year, usually in the fourth quarter).

o The ROK government will continue to work for the inscription of Korean intangible cultural heritage assets on UNESCO’s list as part of efforts to raise awareness about the excellence of Korean culture in the international community and to help promote cultural diversity and creativity of humanity. 


                 Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

*unofficial translation