The government has applied to have the annual Lantern Lighting Festival included on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage on Nov. 17 recommended that the event receive the prestigious designation. (Korea.net DB)

By Kim Hyelin and Lee Jihae

The annual Yeondeunghoe (Lantern Lighting Festival), an event held on Buddha's Birthday, is expected to be listed as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Nov. 17 said an assessment panel under the global cultural body's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage recommended the festival for inclusion on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The panel categorizes its results as "inscribe," "refer" or "not to inscribe" and sends them to the committee. A recommendation for inscription is rarely overturned.

The final decision will come at the committee's 15th session slated for Dec. 14-19 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Launched during the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.-A.D. 935), the festival celebrates the birthday of Buddhism's founder that falls on April 8 under the lunar calendar through a lantern ceremony, march and memorial service.

The festival has a rich history and is mentioned in "The Chronicles of the Three States," a record published in 1145 on the three ancient kingdoms of the Korean Peninsula: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla.

Begun as a religious ritual, the event is now a leading spring festival open to all. Lanterns made from bamboo and Hanji (traditional paper) are used to decorate Buddhist temples, streets and processions.

If included, the festival would be the country's 21st cultural asset to make the UNESCO list. Others include Jongmyo jeryeak, or the royal music played at ancestral rituals during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), pansori (one-person lyrical opera), ganggangsullae (traditional women's dance), the folk song "Arirang" and ssireum (folk wrestling).

kimhyelin211@korea.kr