Learning the Traditional Way: Exploring the Intangible Cultural Heritage Department at Korea National University of Cultural Heritage
‘Learning the Traditional Way’ is a recurring segment that shares diverse stories from the undergraduate and graduate programs at the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage. This issue introduces the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage, highlighting its unique characteristics and members.
Q1. What does the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage study?
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage systematically explores ‘intangible cultural heritage,’ encompassing traditional knowledge, skills, performing arts, rituals, oral traditions, and more, all transmitted through people. We cover a wide range of areas, from the theoretical foundations of intangible heritage to documentation, research, exhibition planning, and policy understanding. The curriculum practically educates students on the contemporary value and potential applications of intangible heritage. Key subjects include understanding traditional crafts and performing arts, fieldwork on intangible heritage, UNESCO policies and trends, and tangible/intangible heritage and exhibition planning. Through this, we operate a curriculum that balances theory and practice.
Q2. Why choose the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage?
As the only department in Korea that educates on intangible heritage as an independent academic system, we cultivate the ability to advance into various fields such as policy, documentation, exhibitions, and planning, based on the contemporary value of traditional culture. With the enactment of the 「National Heritage Basic Law」 in 2024, the independent value and institutional status of intangible heritage have been strengthened, increasing its importance. Accordingly, the department operates programs that link theoretical classes with practical training, focusing on the transmission and utilization of intangible heritage. Through diverse experiences such as fieldwork and documentation practice, exhibition planning, and policy analysis, we are fostering experts who can actively respond to changing heritage policies and the field.
Q3. What kind of students typically enroll?
Students with a love for traditional culture and an interest in people, community life, art, and stories are the main enrollees. Many are particularly interested in oral culture, folk arts, traditional crafts, local festivals, and international intangible heritage policies, or have a passion for cultural planning and content development. Recently, there has been an increase in students who aspire to careers related to documentation and exhibitions utilizing digital technology, and convergence with cultural industries.
Q4. What happens after graduation?
Graduates are diversifying into public institutions and cultural industries, centering on the preservation and utilization of intangible heritage. Major career paths include academic research positions at the National Heritage Administration, the National Intangible Heritage Center, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and various museums and research institutions. Others work at the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, the UNESCO International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific region (ICHCAP), and as cultural planners or content experts at organizations such as the National Heritage Promotion Foundation, the Asia Culture Center, regional cultural foundations, and the Korea Creative Content Agency.
[MINI INTERVIEW] Professor Shin Sook, Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Connecting Intangible Heritage Through People: More About Leaving Than What Remains
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage is the only one of its kind in Korea. This means its importance is high, and the sense of responsibility is great. There are various fields within intangible heritage. The 「National Heritage Basic Law」 organizes and explains intangible heritage in seven categories. Among them, the first and second mentioned are <Traditional Performing Arts> and <Traditional Techniques Related to Crafts and Art>.
I majored in Korean Craft History and study <Traditional Techniques Related to Crafts and Art>. I teach the history of traditional crafts, crafts and intangible heritage, craft-related exhibitions and policies, and modern succession and utilization. Our department's curriculum includes various fields related to intangible heritage. Students can choose to focus on areas they are more interested in.
Excellent examples of our traditional crafts can easily be found in museums. From an early age, I enjoyed visiting art museums and exploring areas with ancient ruins. Over time, I became curious about the stories of the people who created the crafts displayed in museums, which led me to where I am today. Crafts encompass both cultural heritage and intangible heritage. It is an interesting field that examines existing artifacts and explores the intangible heritage based on them.
In 1972, UNESCO adopted the World Heritage Convention, which included cultural heritage such as architecture, monuments, sites of archaeological value, and historical landscapes. UNESCO's activities played an important role for a long time, but there was a lack of attention to intangible heritage. Therefore, in 1993, the 'Living Human Treasures Programme' was launched, officially recognizing holders and successors of traditional culture, and making efforts to pass on their knowledge and skills to the next generation. However, countries in East Asia, including Korea, had already begun researching and implementing ways to protect and develop intangible heritage before UNESCO's full-scale activities. There are two things to remember here.
One is to understand how heritage protection and research have expanded from cultural heritage to intangible heritage. Rather than separating the two heritage fields, it is necessary to research, utilize, and transmit them by considering various aspects as a whole. The other is that Korea had already established a foundation for actively protecting and researching intangible heritage before the activities of UNESCO, an international specialized organization. Therefore, I encourage our students to move forward actively and passionately, with pride in their research on Korean history, traditional culture, and heritage.
[Major Activities of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage] Connecting People, Places, and the World
[Graduation Thesis Presentation with Diverse Topics]
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage's graduation thesis presentation is an academic event where students showcase the culmination of their four years of study. Each year, diverse topics are presented based on theoretical approaches and fieldwork results of intangible heritage. In 2024, a variety of topics were covered, including intangible heritage policy, cultural content, and traditional craft branding. Presenters explored not only the background and content of their research but also future expandability, giving presentations using PPT materials. Through this, in-depth discussions on the preservation and succession of intangible heritage were held. Faculty members, students, and external experts attended the presentation, creating a forum for academic discussion. Students were able to develop their academic maturity and presentation skills.
[Department-Wide Field Trip to Experience and Learn On-Site]
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage conducts a department-wide field trip every year to deepen understanding of the major field and develop on-site senses. In 2024, they visited the Ottchil (lacquer) Culture Center and Woljeongsa Temple in Wonju, Gangwon-do, and the Gangneung Danoje Training Center in Gangneung to explore transmission sites. Students prepared a field trip book through prior research, and performed interviews with intangible heritage holders and recorded transmission spaces on-site. In addition, they directly experienced the vivid transmission process through exchanges with local communities, acquiring living knowledge that is difficult to access through theory alone. It was a meaningful time to cultivate research capabilities and cultural sensitivity together.
[Exchange Student Activities to Learn an International Perspective]
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage actively supports exchange student programs based on MOUs between foreign universities to foster talents with an international perspective. From 2023 to 2024, two students were dispatched to Germany and Japan, respectively. The student dispatched to Germany participated in a comparative seminar on East Asian traditional lacquerware and European culture, and deepened research by visiting museums and art galleries to study lacquerware artifacts exported to Europe. The students dispatched to Japan combined museum practice and field research, focusing on comparative research on Korean and Japanese traditional crafts. At the same time, exchange students from European and Japanese universities visited our school and participated in lectures and workshops related to intangible heritage, resulting in active cultural exchange. This experience provides students with the opportunity to compare the intangible heritage preservation methods and policies of various countries, and serves as a foundation for growing into intangible heritage professionals with an international sense.
The *sumaksae* (ornamental roof-end tile) is a type of emoticon containing the emotions of our ancestors. Within this small smile are their joys and sorrows. In the expression left on the end of the roof tile, we read the hearts of people from a thousand years ago.
[Graduation Thesis Presentation with Diverse Topics]
[Department-Wide Field Trip to Experience and Learn On-Site]
[Exchange Student Activities to Learn an International Perspective]
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