North and South Korea have long grappled over their joint symbols at the United Nations culture organization UNESCO, but they could share the honors this w
ANDONG, SOUTH KOREA – North and South Korea have long grappled over their joint symbols at the United Nations culture organization UNESCO, but they could share the honors this week when twin applications for traditional Korean wrestling come up for consideration.
The two Koreas are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, sealing the division of the peninsula with an impenetrable border.
But despite their vast differences, the democratic South and the communist North share the same language, culture and traditions dating back thousands of years, resulting in subtle rivalry for UNESCO inscriptions in recent years.
South Korea added its tradition of making kimchi — a fermented cabbage dish widely enjoyed across the peninsula — to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013, prompting the North to seek the same status for its own version, granted in 2015.
The Korean folk song “Arirang” has a similar story — the South’s was recognized in 2012, followed by the North’s two years later.
“The South and North are registered as different countries at the UNESCO so we have been working separately,” said the South’s Cultural Heritage Administration, which handles UNESCO applications.
But for traditional Korean wrestling, ssireum, the South applied in 2016, a year after the North — which uses a different system to render Korean into English and transliterates it as ssirum .
The rival applications will come up for consideration at a UNESCO meeting in Mauritius this week.
But propelled by a rapid diplomatic thaw on the peninsula, there is speculation of a first joint inscription.
