This article explores the conceptual design and strategy for inscribing “Traditional Dance of Korea” on the Lists under the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Rather than viewing inscription as cultural recognition or artistic evaluation, it examines how living dance practices can be defined, governed, and sustained within the Convention’s normative framework. The study comparatively analyzes dance-related elements on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, classifying them by form, social context, and mediating components such as music, costume, craft, and ritual. It also reviews the case of Modern Dance in Germany to illuminate tensions between artistic genres and community-based cultural practices. The article argues that Korean traditional dance should be presented not as fixed repertoires but as a dynamic assemblage of knowledge, skills, transmission systems, and performance contexts continually recreated by communities. Successful inscription, it contends, requires integrated design encompassing community-centered governance, linkage with national inventories, and safeguarding measures that prevent decontextualization. It concludes by proposing single-state, multinational, and extension pathways, offering scholarly and policy implications aligned with sustainability, cultural diversity, and community agency.

This study compares the sugeon dance traditions of the Yeongnam and Honam regions to examine regional distinctions and cultural significance. Through literature analysis, comparative video review, and archival research, it identifies differences in rhythmic structure, handkerchief technique, and stage adaptation. The Yeongnam tradition reflects the formal aesthetics and restrained movement style associated with court dance through its Gyobang and Gwonbeon lineages. In contrast, the Honam tradition demonstrates dynamic expressiveness through the interplay of regular and syncopated rhythms and diverse handkerchief techniques. Centered on the respective transmission lineages, both traditions have formed significant strands in modern Korean dance while reinforcing regional identity and community cohesion. However, the study confirms the need to establish a comprehensive digital archive and strengthen international accessibility. By exmining regional diversity within the shared genre of sugeon dance, this study provides foundational material for the globalization of Korean traditional dance and discussions on cultural heritage. Keywords Traditional Dance, Yeongnam Sugeon Dance, Honam Sugeon Dance, Jeong Sosan, Sin Gwan Cheol

This study aims to examine the value and transmission directions of dances designated as cultural heritage from the Five Northern Provinces (Ibuk 5-do) transmitted in South Korea: Hwagwanmu from Hwanghae Province, Pyeongyang Geommu and Pyeongnam Sugeonnchum from South Pyongan Province, Gim Baekbong's buchaechum (Fan Dance), and Hambuk Seonnyeochum from North Hamgyeong Province. The research research draws primarily on historical literature and institutional materials from the Five Northern Provinces Committee. The study confirms how practitioners transmitters have preserved the cultural heritage of the northern provinces through the Japanese colonial period and national division, and analyzes the artistic, regional, and educational value of each dance. The findings suggests the need for a sustainable transmission system: first, securing transmission records through archiving; second, establishing a systemic framework for research on dance genealogy and related music; third, expanding the designation of new genres and strengthening collaboration within the Five Northern Provinces Committee; and finally, establishing an online platform for the cultural heritage of the Five Northern Provinces. These proposals lay the groundwork for future extension to include other dance genres and yet undesignated cultural heritage.

This study aims to establish the category of Korean traditional dance, in which Korean aesthetic consciousness and spiritual culture are embedded. The purpose is to explore the cultural-historical and policy implications of its inscription on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. By analyzing historical literature and current state of domestic transmission, the study approaches the subject from perspective of ‘typical form [jeonhyeong]’ the intersection of tradition and modern transmission. The results confirm that dance forms redefined as stage arts in the modern era constitute the foundation of contemporary Korean traditional dance Furthermore, UNESCO inscription facilitates the globalization of the identity of Korean arts and shifts the policy paradigm from ‘preservation’ to sustainable ‘transmission and promotion.’ This study is significant in proposing a cultural-historical category for Korean traditional dance and presenting policy recommendations for UNESCO inscription. It serves as a scholarly and policy foundation encompassing both the preservation of archetypal forms and modern re-creation.

The purpose of this study is to examine how Gyeonggi-do Dang-gut has influenced contemporary dances that use jinsoe as a prop and to explore the ways in which these dances have developed. As research methods, prior studies were reviewed, and video materials were analyzed. Dances that utilize jinsoe and have been inherited and developed from the lineage of Gyeonggi-do Dang-gut include Lee Yong-woo and Kim Sook-ja’s Turbulim Dance, Lee Dong-an’s Jinsoe Dance, and Jo Heung-dong’s Jinsoe Dance. This study investigates the origins, forms, and artistic characteristics of these dances, as well as their relationship to the roots of Gyeonggi-do Dodang-gut. All of these works employ the rhythmic patterns (jangdan) of Gyeonggi-do Dodang-gut and either transform actions derived from the ritual sequence of gut into performing arts or transmit them through the formalization of artistic works. Jo Heung-dong’s Jinsoe Dance is further identified as a creatively developed work grounded in tradition.

This study investigates the necessity of training methods in performing traditional Korean dances and suggests a possibility of using them. To this end, Bae Junghye's Korean dance training method was used to describe and analyze traditional dance movements. Bae Junghye’s method can be utilized for the following reasons. First, it helps dancers practice and strengthen movements during their training. Second, it can be appropriately applied depending on the purpose of movement expression. Third, it can be used for basic exercises before performing a dance. Fourth, systematic training of movements is possible through Bae Junghye’s Korean dance method.

This study critically approaches the “Research-Based Content” series of the Society for Dance Documentation & History, which explores the historical, morphological, and artistic meaning and value of dance through research in the reconstruction of traditional and new dances, the art dances of the modern era. This research is based on expert interviews and opinions of critics. First, it allows for a flexible reconfiguration and recreation of dance beyond the boundaries of tradition. Second, it enables the documentation of the process and results, providing a formal record. Third, through the exchange between dance and theory, as well as dance and other fields, it offers an i nclusive e xperience. F ourth, i t allows f or t he p ursuit of n ew p erformance f orms beyond traditional and contemporary dance through editing and adaptation in compilation performances.Copyright issues, mutual interests, research adaptation, and time-consuming are among the things to consider.

This study is to analyze the movements of Yeombulgwajang, a section in Seungmu, a Korean traditional dance, from a perspective of Greimas’ semiotics. For the analysis of the study, the movement principles of “contraction and expression” and “tying and untying,” which were derived from the philosophies of Yin-Yang and Reincarnation embedded in Seungmu, were discussed through the idea of Greimas’s semiotic square. The relationships between contraction and expression and between tying and untying are deemed to be confrontational; the relationships between expression and untying and between contraction and tying are regarded as hypothetical; the relationships between tying and expression and between contraction and untying are seemed to be contradictory. The meanings of the dance may be formed and interpreted diversely based on the various combinations of these elements. The study contributes to demonstrating a new way of interpreting inherent meanings in Seungmu.

Maru refers to a basic paragraph in Korean traditional dance, which can be long or short, depending on the performance conditions or the environment. This research aims to determine if there is a paragraph corresponding to Maru in court dance based on the previous study of Han Yeongsuk's Buddhist dance and Mokjung Dance of Bongsan Mask Dance. To this end, Cheoyongmu and Chunaengjeon, representative dances of Hyangakjeongjae, are studied in this paper. Furthermore, the paragraph that was classified by the Jipbagaksa hitting "Bak" was collectively referred to as "Bak paragraph" and the previous methodology on analyzing Maru was applied. As a result of this study, the following results have been obtained. First, the elements that make up "Bak paragraph" of court dance and Maru of traditional dance are lexical chumsawi. Both show similarities in meaning, type, and composition. The court martial arts series, however, shows independence of form and meaning through a simpler and more stable pattern. Furthermore, "Bak paragraph" and the Maru of traditional dance convey a certain message despite slight differences in their compositions. In addition, Maru refers to the phrase of court music as well as the instrumental music of Pungryubang, a chorus or refrain of a folk song. Therefore, "Bak paragraph" and Maru reflect the characteristics of court dance. Also, "Back paragraph" that contains specificity can be considered to represent Maru in a comprehensive sense.

This paper investigated the theme ‘creation’ with the focus on the Korean traditional dances. At first, the problems in the creation of existing Korean dances were analyzed. Through the analysis, the creative factors lacking in individual characteristics were presented and the introduction of the western-oriented concept of creation was critically examined. On the basis of the awareness on the difference of artistic concept between eastern and western world, the concept of creation was discussed in the transmission history of dances. Next, the frame of reference for the creation of the traditional dance was presented. It includes the formation of lines and surfaces through principle of circulation, the formation of dance styles based on the traditional breath method, the approach to interpret rhythms and the application of steps. In conclusion, the events inducing the creation of traditional dances were identified and presented in the ancient literature.