Anchor: South Korea's springtime lantern festival is almost certain to be included on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The Cultural Heritage Administration said on Tuesday that the evaluation committee for the international organization has reviewed and recommended the festival. Rarely ever are its recommendations reversed.
Park Jong-hong has this report.

Report: At its headquarters in Paris, the UNESCO evaluation committee reviewed the South Korean submission of the Lotus Lantern Festival and recommended that it be put on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration made the announcement on Tuesday, adding that it is rare for the committee’s recommendations to be overturned. 

The final decision on the inscription will be made during the 15th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage to be held from December 14 to 19. 

The lantern festival, also known as "Yeondeunghoe" in Korean, is a Buddhist event held every spring during the period before and after April 8 of the lunar calendar which marks the birth of Buddha.

It became a beloved festival for the general public in 1975 when Buddha’s Birthday was designated a national holiday.

If confirmed, Yeondeunghoe will be South Korea’s 21st cultural asset on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Other assets recognized by UNESCO on the list include the Korean folk music genre pansori, traditional wrestling ssireum and the folk song Arirang.
Park Jong-hong KBS World Radio News