UNESCO accepts joint Korean bid to recognize wrestling

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The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) marked a new step in their reconciliation efforts on Monday as UNESCO accepted a joint bid for Korean wrestling to be recognized as one of the world's most treasured cultural practices.

The two sides had originally filed separate applications for their traditional form of wrestling to be recognized on the UN agency's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

"The fact that both Koreas accepted to join their respective applications is unprecedented," UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay said in a statement.

"The joint inscription marks a highly symbolic step on the road to inter-Korean reconciliation," she added.

The announcement is the latest in a string of symbolic gestures between Seoul and its neighbor in recent months.

Last week, the two announced that they had connected a road across their shared border for the first time in 14 years, while earlier this month the ROK gifted the DPRK hundreds of tons of tangerines in exchange for mushrooms.

ROK's Ssireum wrestler Park Young-Bae (L) beats champion Kim Kyung-Soo during at an exhibition match at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, October 23, 2005. /VCG Photo

Difference between wrestling styles

The bid for recognition on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, which is separate from its list of World Heritage Sites, was approved at a meeting in Mauritius.

Successful applications are largely symbolic but can serve to raise the profile of winning countries and their cultural practices.

Known as Ssirum in the DPRK and Sssireum in the ROK- each uses a different system to render the language into English. Wrestling has been a significant part of village festivals on both sides for centuries.

The sport has some similarities to Japanese sumo, but it begins with two wrestlers facing each other on their knees in a pit, holding onto a cloth sash tied around the waist and using their strength and technique to knock their opponent to the ground.

In the ROK, wrestlers are topless and only wear tight shorts, while in the DPRK they don sleeveless jackets. ROK matches are held on the sand while in the DPRK round mattresses are used.

In 2013, the first and only inter-Korean wrestling competition was held on Jeju Island in the ROK.

Source(s): AFP