The Korea Heritage Service has officially submitted two significant collections of Korean documentary heritage to UNESCO for potential inclusion in the Memory of the World Register. The nominations, which include manuscripts of modern Korean language dictionaries and a unique collection of women's literature known as Naebang-gasa, were delivered to the UNESCO Memory of the World Secretariat on Friday.
Both documentary heritage collections received official endorsement as Korea's candidates from the Korean National Committee for the Memory of the World on September 19. The submitted materials will now undergo a comprehensive evaluation process by UNESCO's International Advisory Committee, with the final decision on their inscription to be made during the UNESCO Executive Board meeting scheduled for the first half of 2027 in France.
The Manuscripts of the Modern Korean Language Dictionaries represent a crucial piece of Korea's linguistic heritage, consisting of one manuscript volume of "Malmoe," a dictionary compiled between 1911 and 1914, along with 18 manuscript volumes of the Comprehensive Korean Language Dictionary, which was created over nearly three decades from 1929 to 1957. These documents serve as tangible evidence of the early mother-tongue movement, which aimed to preserve and protect the Korean language while strengthening national identity during periods of intense cultural and political suppression under foreign rule.
The dictionary manuscripts also document Korea's significant linguistic transformation from a writing system heavily dependent on Chinese characters to one primarily using Hangul, the native Korean alphabet. This transition played a vital role in expanding literacy rates and providing broader educational access to the Korean population throughout the 20th century, making these documents historically significant beyond their linguistic value.
The second nomination, Naebang-gasa, which literally translates to "songs from the women's quarters" or "Songs of the Inner Chambers," represents an extraordinary collection of handwritten vernacular literature that was composed, copied, and shared exclusively among Korean women across different generations. The nominated collection comprises 567 individual works spanning from 1794 through the late 1960s, demonstrating the continuous development and preservation of a multigenerational literary community that operated within Korea's traditional social structure.
Scholars and researchers regard the Naebang-gasa collection as an exceptionally rare historical record that provides insight into women's cultural agency and creative expression during a time when women's voices were largely excluded from official literary discourse. These works capture the authentic voices, remarkable creativity, and lived experiences of Korean women from various social classes, offering a unique window into their daily lives, emotions, and perspectives across nearly two centuries of Korean history.
The Korea Heritage Service emphasized its commitment to continuing efforts to identify and promote Korea's significant documentary heritage while working to expand the country's presence in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. These initiatives are designed to raise global awareness and appreciation of Korea's rich linguistic and cultural history, ensuring that these invaluable records of Korean civilization are preserved and recognized for their universal significance to world heritage.
