The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Tuesday its intention to designate the traditional Korean folk song, “Arirang,” as an Important Intangible Cultural Heritage.
 
The agency said it will provide the designation to all types of Arirang pieces, whether they are native or popular folk tunes.
 
“Arirang” was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2012. Since then, calls for the song to be designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Heritage have grown. However, the calls were dismissed as it was difficult to determine a rights holder which was required when making the designation.
 
The cultural agency said that thanks to revisions to a law last year on protecting cultural assets, it has become possible to designate as Important Intangible Cultural Heritages items like Arirang that are generally shared and do not have a specific rights holder.