'S. Korea ignored North's 2023 offer for joint UNESCO taekwondo listing'

Choi Jae-chun, head of the KOREA Taekwondo UNESCO Promotion Committee, said Wednesday that North Korea proposed a joint UNESCO taekwondo listing in 2023, but the South Korean government did not act in time. North Korea submitted its own application in March 2024, while South Korea filed its listing application in 2026. With UNESCO set to evaluate the North’s application next month, Choi is urging diplomatic efforts to seek a deferral and make a joint inscription possible.

In 2018, South Korea’s World Taekwondo and North Korea’s International Taekwon-Do Federation signed a written agreement to cooperate on global heritage recognition for taekwondo.

Choi said Ri Yong-son, president of the North Korean-backed International Taekwon-Do Federation, proposed filing separate applications first and merging them into a joint listing later.

Choi said he alerted the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Heritage Service, and visited the presidential office to urge an expedited submission.

The Korea Heritage Service said it regretted that no effective countermeasures or timely responses followed North Korea’s March 2024 application.

Choi called on the foreign ministry and South Korea’s ambassador to UNESCO to persuade the 24 committee member states to defer North Korea’s individual listing.

Published Nov 4, 2026 8:10 pm KST

South Korea's Lee Dae-hoon, left, competes with Mali's Seydou Fofana during the taekwondo men's 68kg match during the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, July 25, 2021. AP-Yonhap

In 2023, despite freezing inter-Korean relations and heightened cross-border tensions, North Korea proposed a joint UNESCO heritage listing for taekwondo — only for the South Korean government to sit on the offer and miss a crucial window, according to a key advocacy leader.

Choi Jae-chun, head of the KOREA Taekwondo UNESCO Promotion Committee

Choi Jae-chun, head of the KOREA Taekwondo UNESCO Promotion Committee, revealed Wednesday that Pyongyang suggested a collaborative inscription modeled after the successful joint 2018 UNESCO registration of "ssireum," traditional Korean wrestling.

However, the lack of response from the Yoon Suk Yeol administration allowed North Korea to press ahead with a standalone application that is nearing final approval next month, raising fears that Seoul is ceding historical leadership over its national martial art.

"In 2023, North Korea reached out to me," Choi said. "Inter-Korean relations were extremely strained at the time, but Ri Yong-son, president of the North Korean-backed International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), sent word suggesting that filing separate applications first and merging them into a joint listing later would be the best path forward."

Choi said he immediately alerted key ministries — including the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Heritage Service (KHS) — and even visited the presidential office to urge an expedited submission.

"I emphasized the extreme urgency, but government officials treated it casually, suggesting South Korea could simply apply after North Korea completed its process," Choi recalled. "When presidential aides suggested revisiting the issue in five years, I strongly warned them of the fallout. The government's passive stance ultimately caused us to miss a critical window."

Efforts toward a joint UNESCO inscription date back to 2018, when South Korea’s World Taekwondo (WT) and the ITF signed a written agreement to cooperate on global heritage recognition. However, cross-border dialogue halted following the inauguration of the Yoon administration in 2022.

While North Korea submitted its standalone application for taekwondo to UNESCO in March 2024, South Korea did not file its own listing application until 2026.

With UNESCO set to evaluate Pyongyang’s application next month, public criticism has intensified over concerns that South Korea — where modern taekwondo was formally established and named — could see its status as the sport's primary homeland compromised.

In a statement released Wednesday, the KHS expressed regret over the outcome, pointing to administrative delays.

"North Korea submitted an application for the standalone listing of taekwondo to UNESCO in March 2024, but it is regrettable that no effective countermeasures or timely responses were implemented at the time," the KHS stated.

Choi is calling for an immediate diplomatic intervention ahead of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee meeting in December.

"Taekwondo was born and named right here in the Republic of Korea, and North Korea itself had favored a joint listing," Choi said. "It is deeply heartbreaking that our national martial art ended up in this situation due to official complacency."

"If the government had mobilized its full diplomatic weight to raise formal objections based on historical origin, the evaluation could have been deferred," Choi said. "Now, the foreign ministry and South Korea's ambassador to UNESCO must actively persuade the 24 committee member states to defer North Korea’s individual listing and pave the way for a joint inscription."

韩国跆拳道联合国教科文组织推进委员会主席崔在春周三表示，朝鲜曾提议在2023年与韩国联合申请将跆拳道列入联合国教科文组织世界遗产名录，但韩国政府未能及时采取行动。朝鲜于2024年3月提交了单独的申请，而韩国则于2026年提交了申请。鉴于联合国教科文组织将于下月对朝鲜的申请进行评估，崔在春敦促各方通过外交努力争取延期，以促成联合列入。

2018 年，韩国世界跆拳道协会和朝鲜国际跆拳道联盟签署了一份书面协议，就跆拳道的全球遗产认可问题展开合作。

崔表示，朝鲜支持的国际跆拳道联盟主席李勇善提议先分别提交申请，然后再将它们合并成一个联合申请。

崔表示，他已通知统一部、文化体育观光部、外交部和韩国遗产厅，并前往总统府敦促加快提交。

韩国文化遗产服务中心表示，对朝鲜在2024年3月提出的申请没有采取有效的反制措施或及时的回应感到遗憾。

崔呼吁外交部和韩国驻联合国教科文组织大使说服该委员会24个成员国推迟将朝鲜单独列入世界遗产名录。

发布于2026年11月4日晚上8:10（韩国标准时间）

2021年7月25日，在东京夏季奥运会跆拳道男子68公斤级比赛中，韩国选手李大勋（左）与马里选手塞杜·福法纳展开较量。（美联社-韩联社）

据一位主要倡导者称，2023年，尽管朝韩关系冻结，跨境紧张局势加剧，朝鲜仍提议将跆拳道列入联合国教科文组织世界遗产名录——但韩国政府却搁置了这一提议，错失了关键时期。

韩国跆拳道联合国教科文组织推广委员会主席崔在春

韩国跆拳道联合国教科文组织推广委员会主席崔在春周三透露，平壤方面建议以2018年韩国传统摔跤“ssireum”成功获得联合国教科文组织联合注册为世界遗产为蓝本，开展合作登记。

然而，尹锡烈政府没有做出回应，使得朝鲜得以继续推进其独立申请，该申请将于下个月获得最终批准，这引发了人们的担忧，即首尔正在放弃对其国家武术的历史领导权。

“2023年，朝鲜方面联系了我，”崔说。“当时朝韩关系极其紧张，但朝鲜支持的国际跆拳道联盟（ITF）主席李勇善发来消息，建议先分别提交申请，然后再合并成联合申请，这可能是最佳方案。”

崔表示，他立即通知了包括统一部、文化体育观光部、外交部和韩国遗产服务处（KHS）在内的重要部门，甚至亲自前往总统府敦促加快提交。

“我强调了此事的紧迫性，但政府官员却态度轻率，暗示韩国可以等朝鲜完成相关程序后再提出申请，”崔回忆道。“当总统助理建议五年后再重新讨论这个问题时，我强烈警告他们后果。政府的消极态度最终导致我们错失了一个关键时期。”

韩国跆拳道联盟（WT）和国际跆拳道联盟（ITF）早在2018年就签署了合作协议，共同申请联合国教科文组织世界遗产名录。然而，随着尹锡悦政府于2022年上台，双方的跨境对话陷入停滞。

朝鲜于 2024 年 3 月向联合国教科文组织提交了跆拳道的独立申请，而韩国直到 2026 年才提交了自己的列入申请。

联合国教科文组织将于下个月评估平壤的申请，公众批评声浪日益高涨，人们担心现代跆拳道正式创立并命名的韩国，其作为跆拳道主要发源地的地位可能会受到损害。

KHS在周三发布的一份声明中对结果表示遗憾，并指出是行政延误造成的。

“朝鲜于2024年3月向联合国教科文组织提交了跆拳道独立列入世界遗产名录的申请，但令人遗憾的是，当时并未采取任何有效的应对措施或及时的回应，”韩国历史学会表示。

崔呼吁在联合国教科文组织政府间委员会 12 月会议召开前立即进行外交干预。

“跆拳道诞生于大韩民国，并在此地命名，而朝鲜也曾支持将其列入联合武术名录，”崔说。“由于官方的自满，我们的国技最终落得如此境地，这令人深感痛心。”

崔说：“如果朝鲜政府动用全部外交力量，基于历史渊源提出正式反对意见，评估或许可以推迟。现在，外交部和韩国驻联合国教科文组织大使必须积极说服委员会24个成员国推迟将朝鲜单独列入世界遗产名录，并为联合列入世界遗产名录铺平道路。”