The Division of Art and Crafts Studies of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH) implemented various projects in 2005 and its efforts have come to much fruition. The projects included documentation of Important Intangible Cultural Properties, academic research and study on traditional art and crafts, compilation of documents on folk life, and research and survey on folk life and folkways by category. The projects’ comprehensiveness has resulted in rich production: 28 research reports, ten documentary films (HD, Digi-Beta etc.), and eight records of folk music in Gyeongsang-do Province. These achievements are expected to play a significant role in Korea’s efforts to establish an Asia-Pacific Intangible Heritage Center of UNESCO in the nation.

 

“Documentation of Important Intangible Cultural Properties” refers to the project which records the whole processes of the State-designated Important Intangible Cultural Properties in the form of films and books. The project started in 1995 in an aim to produce education materials for future generations and preserve them forever. The Cultural Heritage Administration plans to register the documentary films with the UNESCO Memory of the World and use them as an important tool to win the competition against Japan to attract the Asia-Pacific Intangible Cultural Heritage Center. At present, 90 items have been documented among the total number of 121 Important Intangible Cultural Properties.

 

The second project was conducted to research and document traditional art and crafts when the last inheritors of Korean folk culture (music, dance, crafts, rites, food etc.) are still alive: they are already in their 70s and 80s. Since the Cultural Heritage Administration selected the project as one of the major projects in 2002, research and documenation have been carried out on Confucian and Buddhism sacrificial rites, Gut (Korean exorcism) rites and food culture. As for the current status of the project, 41 items have been researched and 11 reports published.

“Compilation of documents on folk life” has been carried out to fill the academic void in the folklore field that usually focuses on on-site research. Under the project, old documents were not only compiled but also translated with notes. This project is meaningful in that Korea has applied the methodology of bibliography in the field for the first time. As a result of the compilation that the Cultural Heritage Administration has been carrying out as one of major projects, a total number of eight reports have been published including Bibliographical Introduction to Folklore Documents in Joseon Dynasty.

 

“Research and survey on folk life and folkways by category” is the project to identify the intrinsic nature and changes of Korean culture by conducting research, by category and region, on traditional folk culture that are on the verge of disappearance and extinction. The research results will be used as basic data to create a folklore map, and a full-text service system will be developed to make the contents accessible. While the project mainly focused on folk customs according to times and seasons of the year in the first phase of the project (2000 – 2003), the emphasis has been shifted to folk religion since 2004. Under this research project, 13 reports have been issued: nine in the field of folk customs, one in folk religion and three in armory.

 

Another project is to apprehend the status of Korean books of heritage value in foreign countries and make a bibliographical list of them in order to establish a database system and a cyber library. This project ultimately aims at managing the Korean cultural heritage overseas and providing the academic circle with precious research materials. In 2005, research was conducted on Korean books stored in Sonkeikaku Library of Japan and Kazakstan National Library, and a cyber library of 6,500 books was open for public. As for the bibliographical list, 14 places in five countries including the Imperial Household Agency of Japan were researched, and the list of 8,873 books has been issued based on the survey result.

 

“Research on overseas folk custom” is the project to conduct on-site surveys on folk tradition in China with which Korea is closely related in terms of history and culture. This project is especially meaningful in that it is in line with the international community’s increasing interest in intangible cultural heritage. Starting from the research on the folklore of Yao-zu (Yao ethnic minority group) in Guangxi Province in 2003, research teams conducted surveys on the sacrificial performances of Tujia-zu in Hunan and Guizhou Provinces in 2004 and 2005 respectively. The resultant video and picture materials are expected to help understand the Chinese folk culture.

 

In addition, as a part of efforts to preserve intangible heritage, the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage produced compact disks containing its rare materials on Korean traditional music. A total number of 90 CDs of 38 kinds have been produced and are being used for academic purposes.