유네스코 「무형문화유산 보호 협약」과 한국의 「무형문화재법」에 대한 비교 분석적 고찰

The Republic of Korea not only implemented the UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (hereinafter “2003 Convention”) with the amendment of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, but also introduced an independent new Act on the Safeguarding and Promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritage (hereinafter “Intangible Cultural Heritage Act”) in 2015 to reduce the gaps between the international convention and domestic legislation. As a result, the scope of the term “intangible cultural heritage” has been enlarged, a new principle of protection emphasizing the characteristics of changing intangible cultural heritage has been adopted, and designation of heritage as intangible cultural heritage and their transmission systems have been diversified. This study attempted a comparative analysis to examine the impact of the 2003 Convention on the relevant legislation of the Republic of Korea, with a focus on the Intangible Cultural Heritage Act. Although a more responsive legal and administrative environment has been created under the aegis of the Act, there still exists much room for improvement. In particular, promotion of non-state actors, including communities that were emphasized in the 2003 Convention as one of the most important stakeholders for the protection and transmission of intangible cultural heritage, reflection of the Sustainable Development Goals that was freshly introduced in the Operational Directives of the 2003 Convention, a more horizontal approach for the designation of heritage items and maintenance of the heritage lists, and further attention to the raising of awareness and capacity-building measures were proposed as a direction to take.