In China, Arirang and Pansori also designated as domestic cultural heritage… Seo Kyung-deok: “The reality of ‘cultural appropriation’ exposed”

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Seo Kyung-deok of Seong Sin-yeo-dae (Prof.) stated that 24 cases have been recorded in which traditional cultures related to the Korean ethnic minority (Joseonjok) in China’s three northeastern provinces were designated as national-level intangible cultural heritage. Social media posts claiming that Arirang and Pansori, among others, had been designated as Chinese culture stemmed from an investigation by the National Heritage Service.

Professor Seo said, “Upon checking social media, I found that this was content from the results report of the ‘Comprehensive Study on China’s Response to Cultural Appropriation of Korean Traditions’ conducted by the National Heritage Service.” The designated cases included Arirang, Pansori, Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), kimchi-making techniques, and ssireum (Korean wrestling), as well as janggu dance, crane dance, nongak dance, gayageum, traditional clothing, and 60th birthday celebrations.

The Arirang information board in Zhongxing Village, Wudalianji City, Heilongjiang Province, contained an explanation stating that the prototype of Arirang was a song sung by people who migrated from the mainland to the Korean Peninsula after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the Four Commanderies of Korea (Hansagun), expressing their longing for their homeland. Professor Seo pointed out that this emphasized the fact that it was Chinese culture.

He stated, “The reality of China’s ‘cultural appropriation’ has been exposed, and now is the time for our government to respond actively,” explaining, “This is because there is a high possibility that China will first designate items as its own cultural heritage before registering them as UNESCO World Heritage.”

Professor Seo conveyed, “Until now, I have produced multilingual video content on Arirang, Pansori, nongak (Korean traditional music and dance), and kimchi to widely inform the world,” adding, “Going forward, I will produce more diverse content on traditional culture to consistently inform people around the world.”

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original