music

Influence of sharing intangible sonic heritage as negotiation of meaning among communities

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title-Influence of sharing intangible sonic heritage as negotiation of meaning among communities

Writer: © DahaKim 김다하

Although Arirang became one of the elements of UNESCO ICH, under the 2003 convention, by Korea, it does not exclusive to particular nation state. Among many kinds of ICH, music is another way of communication interacting emotion which is different from direct one using language. In identifying, nominating, and safeguarding of ICH, nation-state take a role of it. But in the program of UNESCO, involvement of community members are more important. According to UNESCO, the ‘intangible cultural heritage’ means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills.

This is an explorative research exploring whether changing perception of Arirang contributes to solve of social conflict, justice in relation to other group in a daily social situation.
-Independent Variable: “Arirang(elements of ICH)” -Intervening variables: “economic class”(mathematics required, need to be erased), “social status”; job(e.g. house owner, cleaner), “gender”(man, women, non-binary), “ethnicity”(Korean minority:Chinese Korean Diaspora in Korea, Japan Korean Diaspora in Korea, Korean, Foreigner)
-The Independent variable is sharing of multinational intangible sonic heritage among communities based in places, and territories(cities in Korea, China, and Japan). Intervening variable is ethnicity, social class status(job, etc), and gender(man, woman, non-binary) of individuals in communities. Dependent variable is meaning of multinational intangible sonic heritage.

-Possible interviewee include: (1) Korean ethnic- Chinese nationality group(minority diaspora group), Korean ethnic- Japanese nationality group(minority diaspora group), Korean ethnic- American nationality group(minority group); and (2) international foreigner in Korean.

Writer: © DahaKim 김다하

-Possible Place

  1. Gukakro area from Donhwamoon to Jongro 3ga
  2. Place where many Korean- Chinese live.
  3. PGangwon, Jeong son, mil-yang

-Dependent Variable: “perception of Korean(to ethnic Koreans including Diaspora within Korea) identity in globalized era”
“Perception of Korean identity in international era” have an influence to “Arirang” while intervened by “who perceive it”.


–Contents Table
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Methodology
4. Data
5. Conclusion

  1. Definition of each categories and indicators
    Category A. Social performance
    Definition : ethnicity as Korean (ethnicity & race)
    =an ethnic group; a social group that shares a common and distinctive culture, religion, language or the like, Large groups of people classed according to common background
    Cf. Race: a category of human kind that shares certain distinctive physical traits

Korean include biological Korean race, Korean citizenry, ethnicity within the territory, and expatriate Korean. The identity shared by Korean cannot be equally shared in social division situations.

cultural heritage resource download

Category B.
Definition: social division of individual(status & class)
Social division is based on the economic, and political situation.
Status means (1) ’the relative social, professional, or other standing of someone or something’, (2) ‘the position of affairs at a particular time, especially in political or commercial contexts’
Class means (1) ‘a set or category of things having some property or attribute in common and differentiated from others by kind, type, or quality
(2) ‘the system of ordering a society in which people are divided into sets based on perceived social or economic status’

Category C.
Definition: Korean Diaspora (Diaspora & refugee)
(1)The dispersion of Korean from their original homeland, Maintaining ‘Korean sense of community’ (2) People who have spread or been dispersed from their homeland(place)
Refugee means ‘a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster’.

2. Literature Review regarding with these keyword

Details
-Attitudinal Effects of Arirang: This occurs when Arirang shapes the opinions, beliefs, and values of the Korean ethnic audience
-Emotional Effects of Arirang: This occurs when Arirang produce certain feelings such as affection, enthusiasm or dislike of the Korean ethnic audience

Items for each Index/Sub-index
A. Korean identity acquired & Change according to ‘relative position of persons’->Attitudinal
B. Korean identity acquired & Change according to ‘relative position of persons’->Emotional
Feelings towards Arirang
-How do you feel when you listen Arirang?
(1. Very comfortable 2. Comfortable 3. Somewhat comfortable 4. Somewhat uncomfortable 5. Uncomfortable 6. Very uncomfortable)
-How would you describe your feelings towards newly recreated performance of Arirang?
(1. Very proud 2. Proud 3. Somewhat proud 4. Somewhat not proud 5. Not proud 6. Very not proud)

Necessities:
This study is helpful for understanding different categories of people who ethnically identifying themselves through shared heritage. Heritage is shared by different categories of people. Those categories are intervening variable affecting “perception of Koreanness in globalized era”. This study is required because more than ten years passed since Arirang enlisted as ICH. Arirang song has been represented relatively lower social layers of mass. It has been sung by different categories of people. There were many articles wrote about Arirang since its enlisting, but there are deficiencies in identifying it in perspective of ICH.

To better understand cause and effect relationships, I assume that by sharing “sonic elements of ICH” with “multiple categories of people”, “perception of Koreanness in globalized era” can turn positive by understanding each other. Perception can be divided into two part; (1) attitudinal, and (2) emotional. Arirang is shared in between multiple communities. By understanding each other, communal understanding can be improved. Globalization means increased, faster flow of many categories. Because of increased interaction, hybridity is inevitable. Negotiation between past and present is called hybridity. To measure argumentation, I would do survey and interview of multiple categories of people. Because there are no archive. Firstly, measure random Korean’s awareness about Arirang. Secondly, I would interview Korean, Korean diaspora, and foreign people about their awareness about Arirang and image of of Korean.

Questions are as follows; (1) How does Arirang differently perceived by “multiple stakeholders” including multiple intersectional categories of Koreans and foreigners? (2) When it comes to sonic, heritage, particularly Arirang which is reproduced and mixed, What are the changes in perception of Korea and “Koreanness” to ethnic Koreans and on the international stage? (3) Does changing the perception and heritage status of Arirang contribute to solving social conflict, and justice concerning multiple groups?

3. Follow-up questions:

  1. Arirang, evocative hymn is shared by plural categories of Korean; class, race-ethnic and gender. How does different stakeholders sharing intersectional categories in Korea produce and reproduce images, memories or feelings which is characterized as Korean?
  2. Because of an improvisational characteristic of Arirang, it constantly recreated since its nomination in 2012. The lyric including “ara-ri” is a prototype of the song. Does heritage cause conflict in the constant process of the ‘heritagisation’ process, or does heritage ‘instrumentalized’ by many stakeholders in a conflict situation between different stakeholders?
  3. ICH as a taste, identification of social class, does the individual’s socio-economic class and status gap influence the experience of ICH? (Social stratification)
  4. The song is an effective communication tool that can convey emotion, and meaning which cannot be expressed through language. Then enjoy of Arirang in leisure does become more contribute to the communication of different categories of people by social stratum?
  5. Korean identity of Korean-ness gotten after enlisting of Arirang; how to reorganize to old and freshly constructed Korean identity?
  6. Does Freshly constructed Korean identity through Arirang contribute to diminishing inequality between social strata?

Research objective:

  1. To identify Korean ethnic identity pertaining to daily life developed before and after enlisting.
  2. To examine the identity of Korean ethnicity who have a stake and institution reproducing a vernacular version of ICH through the pass of time.
  3. To examine the attitudes of Korean and foreigners toward Arirang reproduction as various cultural forms such as performances, exhibitions, and festivals.
  4. To investigate a new sense of identity, ‘Korean-ness’ with Arirang since enlisting it.

Current days, Korean Society experiences lots of conflict according to socioeconomic class, gender, etc. The specific reason has been changed for a historical period. But still, disparity brings conflict in Korean Society. As a Living heritage, ICH doesn’t equally experience by communities, human treasures, and individuals. Rather than experience it on daily basis, it became something to have to visit or cost money for participating in. Music is a constitutive element of individual belonging to the community, disparity of conditions becomes harm distinguishing the status of individuals.

Background :
This study looks at the relationships between the sonic heritage sharing of multiple people in Korea using data from interviews and surveys. Through the sensorial experience of inherited song, inherited memory is shared with constituents of the nation. When this is displayed to outsiders, who do not consist of Korean ethnicity, it makes others understand the value and the particular way of Koreans. Sharing music with others allows understand each other. According to UNESCO, what Arirang display is human creativity, diversity, and inclusivity.

I explore the relationship between music and national&transnational identity, starting with the Arirang song. It can be considered in two ways; (1)Nationalism&transnationalism, a love for authentic national symbols and (2) fusion which is considered unauthentic.

Importance
The reason why it is important is music embodies value, memory, and indigenous knowledge about the way of living. In social conflict, divisions are closely related to the status inequalities of individuals. The minor version of Arirang which is not safeguarded well is subjugated heritage. When local cities safeguard the local version of Arirang, they amalgamated it as one single version, rather than transferring all of them with human treasures. I adopted a constructivist approach, regarding heritage as a phenomenon. The ethnographic case study I’m deploying is heritage and identity and conflict studies concerning heritage. As it is a heritage of all humanity, the virtue of Arirang needs to be included.

Significance
This research is significant because it delves in to the heritage depicting Korean identity and constituting the sense of Korean(ness). The belief about norm and power that determining wrong and right according to norm is the harm to diversity.

Writer: © DahaKim 김다하

Quest about The Subject of Music Streaming Technology and Traditional music sharing community

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Quest about The Subject of Music Streaming Technology and Traditional music sharing community

Writer: © DahaKim 김다하

  1. Aim

This writing aims to write down a theoretical essay describing various kinds of “we” and “same mind” which think and act together. With the development of technology, particularly with sharing streaming technology, innate nature of human who helps and share feelings with neighbors would be more developed.

2. Question

To examine this hypothesis is true, I would ask these questions.

How do regional communities and the other stakeholders use Arirang folk song in a conflict situation, for a peaceful society?

As Korean society develops, the group cultures among younger generations become more isolated under the influence of the Corona pandemic and individualism. In this individualized culture, how can communities sustain inter- subjective characteristic in “living heritage” as a performative culture?

Each sub-group is comprised of many “fragmented selves.” Does the individual’s socio-economic class and status gap influence the experience of Intangible Cultural Heritage?

Does the representative song contribute to problem solving solutions in social division situations of South Korea? How different practitioner groups in South Korea use Arirang folk song?

Cultural Heritage Source Download

As Korean society becomes more individualized with the development of social network technology, still musical heritage based on shared identities in communities work to mediate conflict situations in recent times?

How has the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on musical heritage in Korean Society changed the transmission of Arirang as a “living heritage” in daily life?To answer these questions I would adopt theory of scholar, thinker in eastern and western about the notion of “we”. In western, Husserlian Intersubjectivity theory would guide my research.

Rather than adopting phenomenological perspective, anthropological ideas would be adopted. Importance of intersubjectivity theory lies in its fundamental basis of social science. In studying human condition, using the theory can be the basis (Duranti, A., 2010). ‘Shared’ or ‘mutual’ understanding argumented by Husserl taken by Claude Levi-Strauss.

The reason why i’m recalling these western thinkers is for understanding eastern ethnic music, scholars better. In eastern, I would adopt thinker GongJa. He acknowledged higher class and those people should have honor for peaceful society. Higher classes of people are the one who can lead the others by studying and having technology.

When song mediate the relation, the one in the side of production and distribution is the subject. The development of song sharing platform(Spotify, Soundcloud, Genie, Vibe etc.) made people possible to be connected each other whether they are on the side of production or consumption side, whenever, wherever they are.

Share streaming technology would help song producers more actively. The technology would also help listeners for participating together, result in having shared mind as mediated by song.

In case of traditional song Arirang, if sharing streaming technology is mediated, it would produce more possibility for making shared mind.

But in receiving and giving help mediated by song, I would examine whether the sincere intersubjective relation is possible regardless of difference.

Writer: © DahaKim 김다하

Musical Heritage as mediator of dialectic relation in Korea on production side

작성자:

Musical Heritage as mediator of dialectic relation in Korea on production side

  1. Context, Background

 The topic of this research is intangible musical heritage, particularly Arirang folk song in South Korea. The reason for selecting Arirang as a topic is that it is the most representative song and symbol of Korea. Widespread are regional practicing communities. It has been considered “the song of the Korean people” and it is “a global symbol for the preservation of oral and intangible cultural assets” (Kwon, O. 2012).

Korea is one of the countries that ratified the 2003 convention which ICH concept originated from. According to UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is an inclusive concept, as it means knowledge, oral tradition, music, language, etc. The history of ICH field is relatively short, compared to other cultural fields. Since the ICH convention in 2003 initiated by UNESCO, articles regarding ICH actively started to be published. Although its history as academic field is short, the history of heritage itself is so long, as it even goes back to the birth of human.

 As heritages are designated by a nation, they acquire the status of national heritage, treasure, etc. If those heritages are nominated by UNESCO, they obtain the status of world heritage. Heritage studies are interdisciplinary.

Cultural anthropology, folklore studies, and museum studies are related to the study of heritages. But, so many other fields can be interrelated under the name of heritage.  CHS is different from existing heritage studies in a way that it “emphasizes cultural heritage as a political, cultural, and social phenomenon” (Kynan Gentry, 2019). Combining heritage with other fields is popularizing social phenomenon. 

 The historical scope of this research is from liberation of Korea in 1945 to current days. Rather than using the vocabulary “history,” I want to use “memory.” One of the metaphors is as follows: heritage is “a marker of memory” (Dacia Viejo-Rose, 2015). So, the interpretation of this memory is necessary for the next generation.

Intangible Cultural Heritage as a “collective memory,” the stakeholders, communities need to put in the center for proper interpretation. The inclusion and exclusion of the subject involves a political process. What kind of memory should be selected and remembered is considered an important issue. Those memories that passed through heritage are multi-layered.

Cultural Heritage Source Download

2. Purpose, questions

 The purpose of this study is to explore new possibility of expressing “common shared (identity) of Korean” in the relation of different parties who practice and administer Arirang folk songs. The problem with shared identity between communities and institutions is the subjection of particular party in ideological conflict. In this study, a tentative definition for “Common (Shared) identity of Korean” is Koreanness shared among multiple groups in the increased flow of socio-cultural interaction. With the increased flow in the current age, the Korean identity is shared by multiple categories of group and regarding institutions such as CHA in South Korea and UNESCO.

 This research aims to investigate the role of musical heritage in mediating dialectic relation in Korea. It aims to answer how the disparate level of subject parties experience relation and perform identity through ICH. Does the heritage cause conflict in and after of ‘heritagisation’ process, or does heritage ‘instrumentalized’ by many actors in conflict which already existed before? Here definition of conflict indicates conflicts between different nation-states and conflicts between people and organizations in different nation-states. How different practitioner groups in South Korea use Arirang folk song in conflict situation? Does the individual’s socio-economic class and status gap influence the experience of Intangible Cultural Heritage?

These questions are what is missing in the literatures i’ve referenced. These are needed to be addressed because the Arirang song provides means of expression to all kinds of individuals. It contributes as the problem-solving solution to social division situations in South Korea. Based on the articles I’ve referenced, the current state of knowledge can be divided into producing lists and consuming already listed ones. On the consumption side, ICH nomination affects to increase of tourism, hence it also brings economic benefits (Bak, S. et al., 2019). What I have found is the importance of safeguarding as a process-oriented approach across all generations. 

 There is a lack of study about grassroots group relations with authoritative subjects and institutions.. As Representative List, Arirang is characteristic in its inclusiveness as it is a song of suffering people and minorities. It was a means of expression and contributed to cultural diversity. The existing claim of nationalism regarding shared identity is that members of the nation shared a common identity within a specified group.

In the case of Arirang, the municipality-based community network contributes to an inclusive society by being used in international events and ceremonies such as the Olympics. The authentic existence of shared heritage was widespread after the post-colonial era. What is missing from current knowledge about ICH and Arirang is its possibility of contributing to future generations as means of conflict-solving tool. 

 The rationale of this research is the intangible value of Arirang as the representation of multiple groups of people based on locality. In the management of common identity, Cultural Heritage Administrative in ROK took an important part. Arirang in ROK achieved the status of a cultural asset in 2015 after getting the status of ICH by UNESCO in 2012.

In acquiring the status of mass culture supported by the nation, its subcultural characteristics practiced by the local community did an important role (Seonwoo, Kim, 2020). For the production of pan-national(all-inclusive) identity, the subcultural characteristic of Arirang needs to be considered in self-staging of mass culture. 

3. Hypotheses

 Firstly, I hypothesize that through reflection and performing of heterogeneous identity, Arirang contributes to the construction of peace between different stakeholders in Korea. As mean of dialectic relation, ICH can contribute to sustainable development goals, until 2030. Arirang is connected with SDG 16(peace, justice, and strong institution) of UN.

Second hypothesis is that the shared identity between grassroots groups(practicing communities) and authoritative institutions contribute to overcoming postcolonial legacy in Korean Society. The performative culture of Arirang song as “living heritage” in daily lives affects to reproduction of community and their identity in multiple space and time layers.

4. Theoretical framework

 Theory supporting my hypotheses is intersubjectivity theory. I’ll adopt Marx’s political term “class struggle”. Inclusion and exclusion within community, and the international heritage list is political process. The concept can be sophisticated by adopting the theory and term in the other social science field. A discursive strategy for the legitimization of argumentation is a critical analysis by applying inter-subjective theory and Marxian vocabulary of class regarding its political language.

When approached from the angle of intersubjectivity theory, Intangible Cultural Heritage is difficult to be objective because of its intangibility. Arirang musical heritage had become multiple symbols of suffering people and national pride. Human intersubjectivity is achieved through communicative resources such as language. As Arirang was transmitted using language from living heritage treasures to younger generation, the representativity of communities in the song seems to change and renew in timely manner. In-group identification through song occur through the shared experience.

 The strength of the theory is that it is helpful for explaining relation between actor’s perspective toward Arirang. It is effective in explanation of relatedness between two or more actors. The weakness is that intersubjectivity theory and concept was originated from other fields. I’ll apply “intersubjective self” to Arirrang community and institution. The reason why intersubjective theory is so compelling for me is that  to understand who are included in, excluded from, the community,. Adopting this theory, I would explain the reaction of institutions According to Federico Lenzerini (2011), “self-identification” is important trait of ICH. “Self identification” through “constant recreation” does not imply hierarchy or classification.

5. Literature Review 

 What has been written about heritage studies can be divided into production and consumption.  Among the literature on heritage production in international list and knowledge. Registering in the list of UNESCO is the production of World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage under the system of the international organization.

Existing criticism is that international organization is the regime of heritage, and the effort of registering by each country is patrimonial “heritagisation” or even amalgamation. Among countries that ratified this, South Korea actively registered its heritage. According to the analysis of Chen et al. (2020), heritage is the soft power of the country, and it is a part of the nation’s identity. Authors descriptively analyzed research trends in each region, Asia, Europe, and the United States.

 The literature discussing questions concerning heritage consumption is Bak, S., Min, C. K., & Roh, T. S. (2019) and Seonwoo, Kim. (2020). The linkage between these literatures were impacts of enlisting on individuals(tourists and practitioners) Here the status of individual was quantified as intervening and control variable. Control variables include tourist’s health, education level, and urban or rural area where they live.

 In regarding with production of list, with the fear of losing diversity, countries participated construction of the convention. However before that, developed countries already produced the national list and invested in it. The meaning of gap between developed and developing countries is difficulties of applying Operational Directives of the convention to all of the ratified countries on universal level.

In the study of Seong-mi Jeong (2019), the author shows the class system of earlier periods in South Korea remained a legacy in detail of tangible and intangible heritage.

Here the craft item used in marriage rituals and skill making of it both correlated to individuals’ status. In rituals such as marriage, the list of items was different according to class and social status.

Since the modernization of Korea, this Tangible Heritage and ICH wasn’t fully transferred to the young generation.

Similarly, the rising importance of safeguarding is reflected in the analysis of the trend. Safeguarding means a more active process with an aim for preservation than the word ‘preservation’ which was used before.

The new keyword ‘safeguarding’ was added to the existing analyzed keyword. The longer period was inspected by Oh Jung-shim (2021).

When considering the quantified method is relatively rare in the cultural heritage and anthropology field, this article using quantitative data is helpful for the understanding network of articles from international cultural heritage-related journals.

Because one of the most characteristic parts of Arirang lies in the possibility of improvisation and changing lyrics. The intangibility of heritage is a recent paradigm and based on the literature, it has meta cultural nature. Intangibility of Arirang, bitterness represented as sensibility of Korean ethnicity articulated within postcolonial conflicts.

In the case of Arirang folk song of both South and North Korea, as it was popular by all classes of people, it was no need of safeguarding. The characteristic of Arirang as a sub-culture was described by Seonwoo Kim (2020). As tool of expression, it can be used by minorities for political purposes as reproduction of identity. That category of Arirang contrasts with the main, national version.  

6. Research design and methodology

 In this deductive study,  I’lladapt the qualitative method. I’ll do interviews and library-based research. The methodology that I propose to analyze is aimed at answering the question I’ve suggested. I need to interview workers in heritage institutions such as CHA in South Korea and agencies connected with UNESCO.

Along with that, I’ll interview young educators, transmitters and students studying the “living heritage” practice. To answer the aforementioned research questions, historical contextualization of Korea regarding Arirang song is required.

7. Implication and contribution of the study to knowledge (Applicability of Results)

In this study concerning involved actors in the negotiation process, the value of performative culture, “intangibility” would reveal the way. It would contribute to increasing awareness of diversity in Korean Society. As an attempt to go beyond the realm of tangible heritage, this research would contribute to concerning stakeholders related to the mediation of Arirang.

In search for social conflict through heritage education in the future, young individuals and organizations, agencies, and institutions. Arirang song appropriated all classes of people (Kim, S. 2020). In this regard, the parties both on production and consumption side can coexist and contribute to sustainability in conflict situations through changes.

8. Contribution

The study would contribute to understanding  layer of respect and coexistence of which brings peace in Korea.

Writer: © DahaKim 김다하

–References

Duranti, A. (2010). Husserl, intersubjectivity and anthropology. Anthropological theory, 10(1-2), 16-35. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463499610370517

Schramm, K. (2015). Chp 27. Heritage, Power and Ideology. Waterton, E. & Watson, S.(Ed.). The Palgrave handbook of contemporary heritage research. (pp. 442-457). PALGRAVE MACMILLAN. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-137-2935-6

Sangmee Bak, Chung-Ki Min & Taek-Seon Roh (2019). Impacts of UNESCO-listed tangible and intangible heritages on tourism. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 36(8), 917-927. DOI: 10.1080/10548408.2019.1658034

Seong-mi Jeong. (2019). (Co-) curating the rural traditions and material culture of villages: a case study in Wanju, Korea. International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 14, 173-185.  DOI : 10.35638/ijih.2019..14.010 https://www.ijih.org/volumes/article/845

Jung-shim Oh. (2021). Research flows and results of studies on intangible cultural heritage: A network analysis of articles in related international journals, 2002–2020. The International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 16, 18-29. DOI : 10.35638/ijih.2021..16.004

Seon-woo Kim. (2020). The Subcultural Characteristics and Consumption Forms of Arirang — With a focus on its history from the Enlightenment period to colonial period — . THE JOURNAL OF MODERN LITERARY THEORY, 81, 31-57. DOI : 10.22273/SMLT.81.2 https://kiss.kstudy.com/thesis/thesis-view.asp?key=3790701

Yulong Chen, Ke Xue & Megan Dai (2020). The academics of Intangible Cultural Heritage – knowledge map analysis based on CiteSpace (2003-2019). International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 15, 181- 198. DOI : 10.35638/ijih.2020..15.012

Musical Heritage as mediator of dialectic relation in Korea on production and consumption side

작성자:

Musical Heritage as mediator of dialectic relation in Korea on production and consumption side

 Intangible Cultural Heritage(ICH) is distinguished as Representative List and Urgent Safeguarding List, according to UNESCO. One of the Representative List in South Korea is Arirang folk song and it is shared by North Korea, too.

As it transfers from national to international list, the song contributes to construction of peace between different stakeholders of Korea in a conflict situation, particularly in class division, struggle and social dogma.

The scopes of conflict include socio-economical, inter-provincial, and bureaucracy-originated. Those three constituents are all relation-oriented. In Korea, legacy of prior caste system abolished in law. However, still pervasive are social division and discriminations toward minorities.

Within each divided Korea, Arirang consists of about 3600 various versions based on different regions in Korea. It is a symbol of cultural diversity. Then does the representative song contribute to problem solving solutions in social division situations of South Korea?

Cultural Heritage Source Download

 The history of ICH field is relatively short comparing other cultural fields. When considering community hasn’t been clearly defined in the 2003 convention of UNESCO, what kind of stakeholders would be included and excluded is need to be considered in a community-based approach. In this regard, existing criticism is UNESCO as an international cultural regime and heritage enlisting as political process. Based on the articles i’ve referenced, in ICH field, recent studies are focused on the influence of ratification among six groups of countries and possibility of interdisciplinary study with other fields.

ICH is an inclusive concept as it means knowledge, oral tradition, music, language, etc. As instruments of the convention, music constitutes a key part of heritage studies. Intangibility of heritage is recent paradigm and it has meta cultural nature, which means it goes beyond cultures of community in terms of the UNESCO heritage list is for universal humanity.

In the case of Arirang, as “living heritage”, it has undergone continuous change passing through different generations. Anyone can participate in the change of lyrics and improvisation.

The value of Arirang is identified as the inclusiveness of different categories of identity. Different levels of stakeholders; individuals, the ruling(upper) class, and the nation used Arirang for the reproduction of identity. Particularly, the song was a critical tool for the minor subject who seek inter-subject exchange and diversity.

 Under many other ICH domains, performing arts contains many instruments as music is the most universal human expression. In it, the political dimension is more associated with the production side. On the other side, the economical dimension is associated with the consumption side.

As the most popular song in Korea, enjoyment, and consumption of Arirang in certain sub group was depicted by Kim, S. (2020). They consume the song differently from the ruling class. In South Korea, among many versions, currently, 36 versions of Arirang are known.

Mainly, there are four types of Arirang; Jeongseon, Jindo, Milyang, and Bonzo. Heterogeneous local identities based on those different cities(E.g. Jeongseon, Jindo, Milyang) and national identity(E.g. Bonzo) as the main culture transferred into international lists. Main ‘Bonzo’ version goes back to the colonial period of Korea. At that time it was a counter-culture resisting Japan. Under the legacy of imperialism, civil people expressed their emotions through song.

After liberation, the regional version became a subculture resisting the ruling class. It served as media, a lens of mirror of Korean ethnics rather than the message itself. In Marx’s economic-political term ‘the class struggle’, one of the forms of it is ideological.

The meaning of cultural production is controlled by cultural elites in institutions. Lower classes of people struggled with the inability of accessing cultural means. But in the case of Arirang, it provided means for mass to consume the song and reproduce their identities to be connected with national and international institutions up until the present day.  

 On consumption of heritage side, according to Bak, S. et al., (2019), heritage registration on international list positively influenced to increase of tourism and economic benefit to the 72 countries which ratified 2003 convention. In the case of Safeguarding List tour spot, it needs to be more careful than Representative List. In the literature, the status of tourists was quantified as intervening and control variables. Control variables include individuals’ health, education level, and urban or rural area where they live in.

Tourists who don’t have conditions to travel cannot contribute to an increase in heritage tourism. In the other study by Jeong, S (2019), the author shows that since the liberation of Korea, the skill of Tangible Heritage(TH) and ICH weren’t fully transferred to the young generation in rural areas, particularly Wanju city. As “living heritage”, tangible craft items used in ritual and skill making of it both correlated to individuals’ class and social status.

According to the author, Individuals need to participate in co-curating with older generations and understand intangibility within tangible craft and the relationships between TH and ICH. Traditional musical instruments and the intangible music which operated through the instruments are connected and embodied. 

On the other side, political dimension is more associated with production side. Among pieces of literature on heritage production, Oh, J. (2021), Chen, Y. et al. (2020), and Jeong, S. (2019) are the selected ones to answer my question. Registering heritage in the list UNESCO is the production of an institutional system. The designation is the process of acquiring status under the system of international organization. Among countries that ratified the convention, South Korea articulated a debate regarding production side by registering many heritages and researching it.

Contrary to this, the literature discussing questions concerning heritage consumption is Bak, S. et al., (2019) and Kim, S. (2020). The linkage of these kinds of literature are impacts of enlisting individual tourists and practitioners. By using a comparative perspective between production and consumption, it is possible to examine Arirang song as a means of problem-solving solution in Korean society.

On the production side, Oh, J. (2021) inspected research trends and keywords in cultural heritage and anthropology fields from 2002 to 2020. Since the ICH convention in 2003 initiated by UNESCO, articles regarding ICH actively started to be published. When considering the quantified method is relatively rare in the field, this article using quantitative data helps understand the network of articles from international cultural heritage-related journals.

Among analyzed keyword, the most frequent word was “community”, “practice”, and “culture”. The new keyword “safeguarding” was added to the existing analyzed keyword. In particular, in the safeguarding process of practice, community-oriented approach is crucial. The rising importance of safeguarding is reflected in the analysis of the trend. Safeguarding means a more active process with an aim for preservation than the word “preservation” which was used before. The role of transmitters in in regional Arirang community is examined by Oh, J. (2019).

 Not only individuals and communities, but also nation-state as a bigger stakeholder employ heritage as a source of power. According to the descriptive analysis of Chen et al. (2020), heritage is the soft power of the country, and it is a part of a nation’s identity. Authors descriptively analyze research trends since agreement of the convention in each region, Asia, Europe, and the United States. Specifically, Asia is focused on the protection side.

Nevertheless scholars in other areas are more focused on critical combinations with other fields. ICH is impacted by modern advancement in society, and for innovation adopting technology is required.

The field became more interdisciplinary. According to the author, the ICH research is unstructured. What this research promotes is the construction of related studies.

 In that the song provides means of expression to all kinds of people, it contributes to problem-solving solutions in social division situations in South Korea. ICH nomination affects to increase of tourism, hence it also brings economical benefits (Bak, S. et al., 2019).

The current state of knowledge is divided into producing lists and consuming already listed ones. What I have found is the importance of safeguarding as a process-oriented approach across all generations. Representative list particularly Arirang song includes all classes of people in different areas (Kim, S. 2020).

Its representativeness of all classes, particularly of minority people’s layer adds diversity to authenticity in intangibility and it mediates dialectic relations through its performative practice. Peace can be sustained through respect and coexistence of diversity within society. From these findings, I can answer that it contributes to solving the conflict situation in Korea in case of ICH is safeguarded properly, and involved with multitudinous people.

From this, I can bring that new question as follows; As Korean Society becomes more individualized with the development of social network technology, still musical heritage based on shared identity in community works to mediate conflict situation in recent times? How has the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on musical heritage in Korean Society changed the transmission of Arirang as a “living heritage” in daily life? 

Writer: © DahaKim 김다하

References 

De-Miguel-Molina, M., & Santamarina-Campos, V. (2021). Conclusions: Music as an Economic, Social, Cultural, Creative and Resilient Activity. Music as Intangible Cultural Heritage Economic, Cultural and Social Identity, 139. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76882-9_9

Sangmee Bak, Chung-Ki Min & Taek-Seon Roh (2019). Impacts of UNESCO-listed tangible and intangible heritages on tourism. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 36(8), 917-927. DOI: 10.1080/10548408.2019.1658034

Seong-mi Jeong. (2019). (Co-) curating the rural traditions and material culture of villages: a case study in Wanju, Korea. International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 14, 173-185.  DOI : 10.35638/ijih.2019..14.010 https://www.ijih.org/volumes/article/845

Oh Jung-shim. (2019). A Study of Intangible Cultural Heritage Communities through a Social Network Analysis-Focused on the Item of Jeongseon Arirang. MUNHWAJAE Korean Journal of Cultural Heritage Studies, 52(3), 172-187. https://doi.org/10.22755/kjchs.2019.52.3.172

Oh Jung-shim. (2021). Research flows and results of studies on intangible cultural heritage: A network analysis of articles in related international journals, 2002–2020. The International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 16, 18-29. DOI : 10.35638/ijih.2021..16.004

Kim Seon-woo. (2020). The Subcultural Characteristics and Consumption Forms of Arirang — With a focus on its history from the Enlightenment period to colonial period — . THE JOURNAL OF MODERN LITERARY THEORY, 81, 31-57. DOI : 10.22273/SMLT.81.2 https://kiss.kstudy.com/thesis/thesis-view.asp?key=3790701

Yulong Chen, Ke Xue & Megan Dai (2020). The academics of Intangible Cultural Heritage – knowledge map analysis based on CiteSpace (2003-2019). International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 15, 181- 198. DOI : 10.35638/ijih.2020..15.012