National Intangible Cultural Heritage (South Korea)

[1][2] This and other national-level designations are maintained by South Korea's Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA).

There is a separate local-level designation called "Intangible Cultural Properties".

The 1962 Cultural Property Protection Law that governs the system was modelled on the Japanese 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, which provides for the designation of Intangible Cultural Properties as well as the holders of these craft and performance traditions, known informally as Living National Treasures.

[2] These early initiatives at a national level influenced UNESCO in its approach to intangible cultural heritage, leading to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

[4] As of 2025, twenty-three South Korean Intangible Cultural elements have been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.