North and South Korea win heritage status for traditional wrestling with joint Unesco bid
- The two Koreas had originally filed separate applications for their traditional form of wrestling to be recognised on the world heritage list
- Although it is common for countries to jointly submit bids, the North and South have typically been in competition for adding new items
North and South Korea marked a new step in their reconciliation efforts on Monday as Unesco accepted their joint bid for Korean wrestling to be recognised as part of the world’s cultural heritage.
The two Koreas had originally filed separate applications for their traditional form of wrestling to be recognised on the UN cultural agency’s world heritage list.
“The fact that both Koreas accepted to join their respective applications is unprecedented,” Unesco chief Audrey Azoulay said in a statement. “This inscription, through a joint application, constitutes a historic first step on the road to inter-Korean reconciliation.”
The bid was approved by Unesco’s committee for safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage at a meeting in Mauritius.
Known as Ssirum for North Korea and Ssireum for the South – each uses a different system to render the language into English – wrestling has been practised at village festivals for centuries.
