After last year’s scare that China was laying claim to Arirang, Korea’s most famous folk-song, it looks like UNESCO will soon be listing it as part of Korea’s intangible heritage (source: Korea Times / Cultural Heritage Administration).
But the song, which is loved throughout the peninsula and in Korean communities elsewhere, is to be registered as South Korean. “Seoul previously planned to make a joint request with North Korea for UNESCO to recognize Arirang as World Heritage, but made a solo bid in June instead. Cultural officials from both sides have not been able to discuss the issue since the sudden death of former North Korean leader in December 2011,” according to the Korea Times.