Local customs can mark unique heritage

Kim Jin-gon, Director of the Korean Cultural Center in Beijing

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea. Despite ever-deepening exchanges of material and human recourses between the two countries, online tussles between netizens on cultural ownership unfortunately continue.

This coming Saturday isDanofor Koreans and Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival) for China. As both countries use the lunar calendar, we share several traditional holidays such as Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and this one.

While the name and the date are the same, the meaning and origin and, more importantly, the customs are different. For instance, Chinese people enjoy all-night long splendid fireworks for Spring Festival, but Koreans don't have this tradition.

In China, the Dragon Boat Festival is believed to have originated in the ancient state of Chu, commemorating patriotic poet and statesman Qu Yuan.

Meanwhile, in Korea, Dano began with farmers, who had just survived the springtime food shortage and finished rice planting, wishing for another good harvest. The name originated from ancient China, but it has a wholly different origin, meaning and observance.

Even in Korea, there are various customs as to how to celebrate Dano. The best example is the eight-dayGangneung Danoje Festival. In this region, there is a famous myth about a monk who became a village deity. There are many shrines to the village deity which every Dano holds rites in honor of the deity. While Dano is a holiday, Gangneung Danoje is a unique local festival.

Holidays such as Spring Festival, Christmas or the Mid-Autumn Festival can't be claimed by any one country. However, the unique customs in the Gangneung area, which can't be found anywhere else, can.UNESCOtherefore designated the unique cultural customs of the Gangneung area as part ofSouth Korea's intangible cultural heritage.

I hope one day the Temple Fair at Spring Festival can be designated as part of China's intangible heritage. As such, I hope the misunderstandings between the two countries can be cleared up, and I hope that all Chinese and Koreans can enjoy this upcoming holiday.

-By Kim Jin-gon, Director of the Korean Cultural Center in Beijing

*Article fromGlobal Times(June 20, 2012)