SEOUL: The two Koreas, North and South Korea have taken another massive step in reconciliation through sport after UNESCO, the United Nations’ global cultural organization, accepted their joint bid for recognising the region’s traditional style of wrestling called ‘ssireum’, UK’s The Guardian reports.
This means that ssireum will now be considered amongst the world’s most treasured cultural practices, making it an intangible heritage. The official name has reportedly been listed as “Traditional Korean Wrestling (Ssirum/Ssireum)”, with the North Korean transcription appearing first. The UNESCO committee voted in the bid’s favour during a meeting in Mauritius on Monday.
This is the first instance of the Korean nations jointly listing an item since traditionally both have considered themselves to have different cultures and identities.
UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay called the development an ‘unprecedented result’ and was quoted as saying to the newspaper: “It reminds us the central role played by cultural heritage in tightening the links, as an emotional hyphen between peoples.”
Azoulay played the mediator in convincing both the nations to make the move.
Ssireum was said to be widely popular in South Korea in the 1990s, but has virtually disappeared from public view with the rise of baseball and e-sports. Competitors face off in a ring covered in sand – where men go topless – both wearing a cloth tied around their waist and left thigh. The first to touch the ground above the knee loses.
Officials from North and South Korea explained the sport using the exact same terms, according to a UN diplomat who visited both ahead of the listing, adding that he “felt the emotion in their voice in talking about the sport”.
