The Korean National Commission for UNESCO has approved Jeongseon-gun as a preliminary member city in the music category of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Jeongseon-gun announced Sunday that it will begin a phased push toward full membership in the network by 2029.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network promotes exchange and cooperation among cities based on their cultural assets and creativity.
Jeongseon-gun has been pursuing membership on the strength of its cultural foundation and content in the music field, centered on Jeongseon Arirang. The preliminary approval marks the first step toward joining the international network.
The county and its foundation have drawn up a medium- to long-term road map: clearing a domestic recommendation review by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO in 2028, then seeking full membership from UNESCO headquarters in 2029.
The global surge in popularity of BTS's "Arirang" is expected to give fresh momentum to the development and promotion of Arirang-related content.
Jeongseon-gun and the foundation will form a joint working task force, with the county handling administrative planning and regulatory affairs and the foundation overseeing on-the-ground operations for individual project content. A steering committee — chaired by the county governor and co-chaired by the foundation's board chairman — will also be established to build a public-private-academic cooperation framework.
Key initiatives to be rolled out in stages include building a digital archive of Jeongseon Arirang transmission holders, running citizen participation groups and forums, pursuing exchange and cooperation with other UCCN member cities abroad, holding an Arirang creative music festival, and launching inclusive music programs for culturally underserved communities.
At the opening ceremony of the 51st Jeongseon Arirang Festival, the county plans to announce a new vision for joining the UNESCO creative cities network and share with residents its direction for developing into a music creative city rooted in Jeongseon Arirang.
The approval came after the Korean National Commission for UNESCO revised its operating guidelines to allow gun-level administrative units — counties — to be eligible for the network, giving Jeongseon-gun the institutional basis to pursue membership as a county-level entity.
The commission had previously limited eligibility to si-level, or city-level, administrative units. Jeongseon-gun and the Jeongseon Arirang Culture Foundation wrote to UNESCO headquarters and petitioned the Korean commission for a rule change, arguing that county-level areas with distinct cultural characteristics and creativity should also be able to participate.
Those efforts led to a revision of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO's creative cities network operating guidelines to include gun-level units, paving the way for Jeongseon-gun's approval.
Since Arirang's inscription on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2012, the Jeongseon Arirang Culture Foundation has consistently expanded the region's cultural ecosystem — advancing academic research and transmission of Jeongseon Arirang, promoting creative performances, and building an archiving system centered on the Arirang Museum. The foundation also played a hands-on role in developing the music-field content that underpinned this membership bid.
Choi Jong-su, chairman of the Jeongseon Arirang Culture Foundation, said the cultural foundation built through research, transmission, performance and archiving of Jeongseon Arirang is now feeding directly into the content for the creative city bid. "We will continue to work closely with the county to expand the artistic value of Jeongseon Arirang internationally and actively drive cultural and creative programs that residents can experience firsthand," he said.
Jeongseon County Governor Choi Seung-jun called the preliminary approval a source of pride for the people of Jeongseon-gun and a testament to the transmission holders and artists who have kept Jeongseon Arirang alive. "Going beyond the preservation of cultural heritage, we will work together with our residents to build 'Jeongseon — Global Music Creative City,' where culture and creativity overcome the crisis of population decline and revitalize the local economy," he said.
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