North, South Korea Form Tag Team to Get Traditional Wrestling Unesco Heritage Status
n traditional Korean wrestling, the competitors face off in a circular sand pit. They begin in the kneeling position, grasping ahold of a sash tied to their opponent’s waist and thigh before they rise and begin to grapple. The winner forces any part of their opponent’s body above the knee to touch the ground.
In North Korea, the type of wrestling is referred to as "ssirum," and in South Korea, it is referred to as "ssireum.” Both countries, which are technically still at war, submitted applications to get the tradition on the United Nation’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. But it took the countries working together to craft a historic joint bid that finally led to the tradition’s inclusion on the list of “intangible assets,” reports Benjamin Haas at The Guardian.
John Irish at Reuters reports the joint application was created after months of “shuttle diplomacy” by Unesco, the United Nation’s cultural agency. That involved ironing out several sticking points in the application, including the English transliteration of the sport's name. Both spellings are used in the bid, which was formally accepted yesterday at the 13th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in the Republic of Mauritius.
“The joint inscription ... becomes the opportunity to clearly demonstrate that the Korean people is one nation of peace and prosperity, once we join our ideas, powers and wisdoms,” North Korea representative Jang Myong Ho said at the ceremony.
“This is sending a common, joint symbolic message before the international community. Two Koreas will work together to consolidate peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula,” Lee Byong Hyun of South Korea added.
The sport has been part of Korean cultural life for centuries, often the highlight of village festivals. It persisted into the modern era and was widely practiced during the 20th century, reaching a peak of popularity in the 1980s as a televised sport. Since then, Reuters reports, the tradition has been in decline, eclipsed by baseball and e-sports.
Haas at The Guardian reports that in the past, the two Koreas have submitted cultural heritage applications to Unesco separately, including listings of kimchi and folk songs. The joint bid is a sign that tensions on the peninsula, where the two nations have technically been at war since 1950, may be cooling. In recent years, the nations have reduced the number of border guards at their demilitarized zone, conducted sports exchanges and are even working on a joint dictionary.
For its part, Unesco is working to help bridge the divide, promising to work on more collaborative cultural, education and science projects between the Koreas. “The joint inscription marks a highly symbolic step on the road to inter-Korean reconciliation,” Audrey Azoulay, director-general of Unesco, says in the press release. “It reminds us of the peace-building power of cultural heritage, as a bridge between peoples. This marks a victory for the longstanding and profound ties between both sides of the inter-Korean border.”
nly one major section of the Berlin Wall still stands, a stretch running almost a mile along Mühlenstrasse paralleling the river Spree. Almost a year after the fall of the wall separating East and West Berlin in 1989, artists from around the world were invited to transform that section of the barrier into a tribute to peace and unity. The East Side Gallery, as the open-air art gallery is called, has become a powerful symbol of post-Mauerfall unity. But over the years, a development boom along the river has threatened to overshadow, and even demolish parts of the world-famous gallery. Now, reports Deutsche Welde, a foundation has taken control of the historic wall and the property around it, and declared it will protect the site from future encroachment.
More than 118 artists from around the world were invited to put their mark on the wall in 1990, and the colorful, message-laden space was put under national monument protection the following year. However, maintaining the outdoor art has proven to be a challenge. In 1996, the Artists Initiative East Side Gallery, a group of wall artists, was formed to help restore some of the flaking and vandalized art. Occasional restorations have been ongoing, including work in 2000 and a major restoration in 2009 partially funded by Berlin. But the Artists Initiative has had trouble keeping up with the maintenance backlog and providing legal protection. Meanwhile, as Berlin’s real estate market continues to boom, luxury apartment blocks and a concert venue have shot up between the river and the gallery. In 2013, part of the wall was even taken down to make space for an access road for the luxury condos.
All of this has led to outcry from art lovers, historians and locals. They can breath a sigh of relief now that the wall and surrounding property has been transferred to the Berlin Wall Foundation, which already runs several sites and museums in the city. Not only will the group perform much needed maintenance on the wall and the paintings, it will also offer guided tours of the wall and establish displays explaining the history and significance of the site. It will also undertake archaeological work to find the foundations of the guard tower that once overlooked that section of wall, where it’s believed 10 people were killed while trying to escape East Berlin. The city of Berlin will also contribute $285,000 to help preserve the site.
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