Our Ondol as a Global Intangible Heritage... Society Urges Korea Heritage Service
The International Ondol Society, an incorporated association, said on October 12 that it had urged the Korea Heritage Service and the Presidential Office to consider designating ondol, the traditional heating system used in hanok homes, as a National Intangible Heritage to promote it on the global stage. The society said the designation could help create an opportunity to develop ondol into a cultural asset for humanity’s future, as Korea grows into a cultural powerhouse.
The society has long described ondol not merely as a heating system, but as a complex cultural asset embodying the accumulated wisdom of Korea’s ancestors, combining fire, stone, earth and architecture. It believes ondol could offer new inspiration as the world faces challenges including climate change, energy issues and sustainable architecture. Last month, the society proposed launching a national project to globalize K-Ondol and conducting a comprehensive survey of ondol culture under the Korea Heritage Service’s direction.
Kim Junbong, president of the International Ondol Society. Photo provided by the society.
View original imageThe society also argued that a system should be established to support education, entrepreneurship and the transmission of ondol culture among younger generations, and that a national research and development project should combine traditional ondol with eco-friendly smart building technologies. It stressed that efforts should ultimately be made to secure a place for ondol on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
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Before submitting the proposal, Kim Junbong, president of the International Ondol Society; co-president Park Kangcheol; and Seo Jeongho, chair of the Committee for the Inscription of Ondol Culture as a World Heritage, adopted a resolution calling for national policies to promote ondol globally. They agreed to systematically study ondol’s historical, technological, architectural and everyday cultural value, protect ondol practitioners and transmission communities, and jointly organize an international forum.
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