Mr Youngjoon HA

• President, Yeongsang Tug of War Presentation Society, Republic of Korea

• Session 1: Presenter 4

A Voice from Heritage Community of Youngsan in Korea

Youngsan villagers are proud of their annual tugging rituals with various reasons. The villagers do not know when the Youngsan Tug-of-War started but know that it has lived long as a part of their lives. It is not only a competitive game but also all around festive events. The tug-of-war is performed to pray for good harvest and to promote the prosperity of the village through harmony and solidarity among villagers. Not only that but also it is praised as the best practice model among the same kind of folk rituals and games in the contemporary Korea. It was thus designated as the nation’s important intangible cultural property in 1969 and eventually inscribed in the UNESCO’s representative list in 2015. However, all the villagers do not exactly know what the meaning of UNESCO’s RL is. Many villagers asked themselves why and how their tug-of-war was inscribed and they are questioning what to do under the big label. At present, the village is facing many difficulties in socio-economic fields including decrease of population, increase of ageing issues, and the resultant economic sufferings. In order to overcome the crisis, community members put their efforts into finding good solutions with the support of central and local governments.

Ha YoungJoon is an Intangible Cultural Heritage holder of Youngsan Tug-of-War in Korea. He was elected as a new president of Youngsan Tug-of-War Preservation Society in January of 2017 and now exercises a reputable leadership in order to promote the ritualized game and transmit it to the next generations. He is a native Youngsan villager and involved in farm work in the ordinary time. The tug-of-war is played once a year on the 1^st of March. Yet, he with the help of other villagers, has been devoted to preserve the ritual game.