Chair of Korea National Intangible cultural heritage committee, Frm director of National Museum of Korea, Director and Frm DG of Unesco-Ichcap, Director of Jindo Cultural City Center, Culture Chief of Unesco Beijing, Chair of Loden Foundation Bhutan (Key panelists) and audiences with diverse background regarding cultural heritages.
Key Points and Outcomes of the Glocal Forum 2024 and Recommendations
Main Contents
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(Hur Geon/Director of Jindo Culture City Center) Explained the rationale for Jindo County, Korea's only special district for folk culture and arts, to become a legally designated cultural city by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the 'Island of Folk Culture'. Emphasized the need to establish this as an annual event starting with the Glocal Forum 2024, building a platform for international solidarity with East Asian traditional culture centers and Pacific island nations
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(Sangay Tshering/Chairman of Bhutan's Loden Foundation) Explained that even the Kingdom of Bhutan, with a population of 750,000, is facing a crisis of traditional cultural heritage loss due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. As Bhutan's top NGO, the Loden Foundation shared its activities as an alternative to government and public institutions in protecting and utilizing cultural heritage, and proposed building cooperative relationships with Korea, including Jindo
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(D.B. Hanh/UNESCO East Asia Senior Culture Officer) Expressed gratitude for Jindo County's efforts to host international conferences for the protection and development of intangible cultural heritage. Emphasized that cultural heritage is a core resource for creative industries, and stressed the need for policy attention to ensure a harmonious and virtuous cycle between the protection and utilization of cultural heritage. This is an effective method of urban regeneration that leads to job creation for local residents.
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(Park Won-mo/Director of UNESCO ICHCAP) Jindo is a treasure trove of intangible cultural heritage representing Korea. Jeju Island successfully hosted international conferences for 10 years with haenyeo (female divers) as a keyword, leading to UNESCO intangible cultural heritage listing and establishing an international city brand in this field. Benchmarking this, there is a need for continuous efforts to take the initiative in international exchanges with Pacific island nations and others. Such an established international brand can transform Jindo into a world-class tourist destination.
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(Cheon Jin-gi/Chairman of the National Intangible Heritage Committee) While the Loden Foundation of Bhutan expressed the need and difficulty of documentation work, I understand that Jindo County has mostly completed the documentation of cultural resources in the region. It would be good to consider ways to transfer Jindo's advanced experience and technology to the Loden Foundation. Such exchange and cooperation of technology and knowledge could become a model case of practical international cooperation in the protection and utilization of cultural heritage between Jindo and Korea, and the Loden Foundation and Bhutan.
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(Bae Ki-dong/Former Director of the National Museum of Korea) The protection and utilization of cultural heritage are inseparable, like two sides of a coin. One of the representative areas of utilization is the tourism industry. Jindo is at the highest national level in terms of food, sights, and entertainment. However, there is room for improvement in accommodation issues, especially bedding hygiene, as with other local governments. This is a limiting factor in attracting overnight tourists. If Jindo County implements a policy to make the hygiene of bedding in accommodations the best in the country and spreads this awareness, it will gain another competitive edge in attracting tourists.
Achievements and Recommendations
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Secured participation of top domestic and international experts and institutions in intangible cultural heritage
◦ Domestic participants included the former director of the National Museum of Korea, the chairman of the Intangible Heritage Committee of the National Heritage Administration, and the director of the Research and Information Division of the ICHCAP,
◦ International participants included the UNESCO Culture Officer from the highest authority in the cultural field, and the chairman of the Loden Foundation from Bhutan, a country with national brand value as a happy nation, ensuring an event befitting a high-quality international conference
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Enhanced cost-effectiveness of the international conference through a hybrid online-offline meeting format
◦ Considering time and budget constraints, the conference was structured with domestic experts attending in person and international experts participating via video conference
◦ Successfully managed to reduce invitation expenses and easily adjust expert travel plans, securing full attendance of necessary experts, thus elevating the conference's status and ensuring quality control of the forum's outcomes
◦ While the on-site event had high energy with numerous experts and spectators in attendance, the online participation of domestic and international institutions, organizations, and groups in the field of intangible cultural heritage enabled network building and expanded the event's online promotional reach
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Established a foundation for online promotion and marketing of the Jindo Glocal Forum
◦ Created a dedicated Korean-English website for the 'Cultural City Jindo Glocal Forum 2024' (www.heritagelab-chacl.org) to conduct pre- and post-event promotional activities focused on domestic and international participating institutions
◦ Maintained ongoing communication channels with UNESCO East Asia Office, Bhutan's Loden Foundation, and others
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Continuous hosting of the Jindo Glocal Forum, positioning as an international folk culture city
◦ Secured a unique value as Korea's only 'Island of Folk Culture' both domestically and internationally, based on a long-term plan of over 10 years rather than a one-time event
◦ Actively utilizing the international reputation of experts and institutions participating in this conference, positioning Jindo as a central hub for expanded connections with island regions in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Pacific island nations, and key areas in the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and Atlantic, while maintaining ongoing relationships with these entities
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Conceptualization of the '(tentative name) Southwest Coast Folk Culture Tourism Zone' in conjunction with nearby local governments such as Haenam, Wando, Mokpo, and Sinan
◦ Jindo taking the lead in forming a council with nearby local governments as the forefront of Korean folk culture
◦ Collaborating with Jeollanam-do Province to reflect these concepts in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's tourism development master plan and tourism promotion master plan, and efforts to secure support from the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund
Name and Theme
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Name: The Glocal Forum for Jindo, Korea's Cultural City 2024
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Theme: Future Strategies and International Cooperation for Jindo, Korea's Folk Culture Hub Island
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Forum Objectives
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On the occasion of Jindo County being selected as a preliminary cultural city of Korea for 2024, we aim to host an international conference inviting top-tier experts in the field of original culture from UNESCO and other domestic and international organizations. The goal is to discuss ways for Jindo to effectively preserve and develop its cultural resources while becoming a globally competitive cultural city, sharing experiences through this international meeting.
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Using this first international conference as a starting point, we aim to continuously expand and establish networks and promote exchange cooperation with representative original culture cities in Korea, China, Japan, and the Asia-Pacific region. After being selected as a cultural city, Jindo County, as the only folk culture and arts special zone in Korea, will position itself as a hub for original culture master classes, aiming to grow into a representative folk culture city of Korea. This will contribute to the revitalization of the local economy by expanding the foundation for cultural tourism.
Video Conference Interpretation and Technical Support
Korean-English Simultaneous Interpretation: Korea Interpretation and Translation Co., Ltd. kicat@kicat.co.kr
Date/Venue
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September 28, 2024 (Sat) 14:00-16:20 / Conference Room at 'Jeongdong 1928 Art Center' in Jung-gu, Seoul (130 Deoksugung-gil)
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How to get there
