Cultural Heritage and Creative City: Safeguarding through Development?

• In Event: Issues of Making Heritage in East Asian Contexts

Abstract

Jeonju City, South Korea for the UNESCO Creative City Network (UCCN) from 2009 to 2011. It explores the potential of UCCN for safeguarding cultural heritage and argues that UCCN might present meaningful opportunities to rethink our approach to cultural heritage.
The objective of UCCN is development. On the surface it is concerned neither with preservation nor with safeguarding cultural heritage. The Mission Statement of UCCN does not mention cultural heritage. We find that cultural assets are briefly mentioned in the UCCN application form together with cultural industries, only because cultural heritage is regarded helpful and relevant when contributing to cultural industries.
UCCN is not shy of cooperating with private sectors as well as civil society. It tries to use creativity as a strategic factor of sustainable development.
This means that admission to UCCN might be far more effective as well as meaningful in safeguarding certain practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills than their inscription as intangible cultural heritage. The aspiration of Jeonju City does not stop at simple preservation of the Korean cuisine as intangible cultural heritage; it tries to build creative industries around its “Sincere Food” by focusing on rice, soybean products, and fermentation.

Author

• Kyung-Koo Han, Seoul National University