Korea pushes to put ondol heating culture on UNESCO heritage list

Efforts to preserve and promote ondol — Korea's traditional underfloor heating system — are moving into high gear.

The National Committee for the Transmission and Spread of Ondol Culture and the Gangwon National University Museum held an inaugural ceremony Wednesday at the auditorium of the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Former People Power Party lawmaker In Yo-han was named committee chair. The panel includes 24 experts from various fields, among them Kim Gyu-un, director of the Gangwon National University Museum; Kim Yeong-jae, a professor at the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage; and Im Jun-gu, a doctoral researcher and master craftsman specializing in traditional ondol construction.

The committee said it would "systematically carry out strategies to register ondol culture as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and spread K-ondol globally."

As an immediate step, the committee plans to publish a book titled "Ondol Civilization" in both Korean and English to introduce the history, architecture and lifestyle of ondol to domestic and international audiences.

Over the medium to long term, the committee will build a "K-ondol national platform" to pass down traditional ondol techniques and train specialist craftsmen. It also plans to host international forums and develop multilingual materials to raise the global profile of ondol culture.

"The ondol room is a place where knowledge, wisdom and morality are learned," In said. "Please join forces so that ondol culture can be widely known at home and abroad."

Yu Hong-jun, director of the National Museum of Korea, described himself in his congratulatory remarks as "a supporter and patron of ondol," adding that "when people talk about Korea's top 10 inventions, ondol is usually ranked around fourth."

"The defining feature of ondol is that it lays the fire on its side, trapping heat for a long time and keeping the warmth going," Yu said. "I hope you will work together to research how to develop and advance the important values this tradition holds."

Ondol culture is a traditional heating method distinguished by its originality and scientific ingenuity. Unlike a Western fireplace, which sends smoke directly up a chimney, ondol keeps heat beneath the floor rather than drawing smoke into the room, maintaining warmth for extended periods.

Recognized as a heritage deeply embedded in Korean life, ondol was designated a National Intangible Heritage in 2018.