Tug-of-war is a game that anyone can enjoy easily, in its simplest form requiring just a rope and some space to play, and it has been widely transmitted all over the world. In particular, in Asia, it has been widely practiced in combination with rituals for prosperity and peace within agricultural communities, and has played an important social role in fostering community cohesion and solidarity. Its significance was recognized by UNESCO in 2015, when ‘Tugging Rituals and Games’ was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a multinational heritage of Cambodia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam.

During Dan-o, Daeboreum, and Chuseok, pre-modern Koreans used to hold celebrations composed of rituals to the communal deity, communal games, and various folk arts. Among the communal games, the tug-of-war was the most common. It was widely distributed around the central southern region of Korea and played simultaneously or in rotation with other communal games.

Tug-of-war is a universal cultural phenomenon all around the world. Especially in Asia, the tug-of-war is related to rice farming and is thus commonly found in the farming cultures of Northeast and Southeast Asia. As practiced in Asia, the tug-of-war is performed either as a prayer for rain, or for a good harvest, or to foretell whether the year’s harvest will be good or bad. Tug-of-war activities have similarities that include two teams pulling at the opposite ends of a rope. They also have distinctness, individuality, and creativity interactivity with the climate or environment, making tug-of-war events worth preserving as a common element of Asian intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Recognizing the universality and distinctness of tug-of-war traditions in Asia, Cambodia, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam prepared a multinational file to nominate “Tugging Rituals and Games” to the UNESCO Representative List of the ICH of Humanity through mutual communications and meetings. The Republic of Korea submitted the nomination file to the Convention Secretariat on behalf of the four countries on 31 March 2014. The nomination file was eventually recognized on 2 December 2015 during the tenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee held from 30 November to 4 December 2015 in Namibia. The inscription of Tugging Rituals and Games to the UNESCO Representative List of the ICH of Humanity has brought about a sensation in each country. The news of the multinational inscription was covered in a slew of media outlets in each country, and in particular, Vietnam selected the multinational inscription as one of the top ten cultural news events of 2015. The Republic of Korea, which led the multinational inscription, conducted commemorative events, such as holding an exhibition and publishing books in Korean and English.

Tug of war or tugging game is one of many folk games performed in festivals of someof 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. In addition, tug of warserves to ensure abundant harvests andstrengthen communityunity and solidarity.

The tug-of-war is widely spread throughout the world, especially in agricultural communities. The Gijisi Tug-of-War Festival is highly regarded. Held on the second weekend in April, it has a five-hundred-year history. The event, which is based on agriculture, fishery, and merchant traditions, is held to wish for prosperity and good luck for the coming year. The tug-of-war represents the agricultural, rural, and social characteristics of the region. The rope used for the event is two hundred meters long and one meter thick, so it is truly a community event. Similar tug-of-war games are also held in other nations. After creating a museum for Gijisi tug-of-war, members discovered that it could be a symbol of the region, so the local government invested into the museum. After building the museum, we wanted to expand our knowledge of tug-of-war events in other countries. In the past, there wasn’t much communication among the different communities celebrating tug-of-war festivities. However, after building the museum, we had the opportunity to invite other countries as a sort of network that allows research into other types of tug-of-war in the Asia-Pacific region. As Gijisi tug-of-war is well known, we thought that having a festival to display other cultures’ traditional tug-of-war through a networked festival. Tug-of-war (juldarigi in Korean) is an intangible heritage that is commonly found in various regions across the world. In particular, it is a popular activity that takes place with the aim to foster harmony and solidarity among communities in rice-farming regions across Korea, Japan,and various Southeast Asian countries.

Chak-ka-yer is a Thai word similar in meaning to tug-of-war in western countries. It is one of the oldest folk team games in Thailand. Thai people across the country know chak-ka-yer, and many may have had some direct and indirect experience with this game, either as participants or observ-ers. Chak-ka-yer benefits Thai society in several ways. People use chak-ka-yer for fun, pleasure, recreation, and relaxation from their routine work. Chak-ka-yer is played between teams, groups, or communities to test their physical strength. The game does not focus on competition, team preparation, contest regulations, and championship, but rather on unity, friendship, morale, and incentive of communities. Chak-ka-yer as a game is related to thoughts, beliefs, customs, traditions, rituals, and values of the people in different areas. Chak-ka-yer is a high-level game of development and doesn’t focus on systematic contests; it has specific agency to respond to and has the team seriously trained and practiced to win the championship. Chak-ka-yer as a sport is left unmentioned in this article since it has become an international sport.

Throughout the years, I have been researching Korean recreational activ-ities, and among them, the tug-of-war was definitely the most central theme. According to my research, the Korean tug-of-war has many different fea-tures following the different regional characteristics, but they also have similar patterns. Although it is possible to speculate that the diverse characteristics of each region’s tug-of-war is due to the area’s geo-ecological, sociocultural, and magi-co-religious factors and culture exchange, it is difficult to prove these factors in depth. Thus, this paper examines the diverse features present in the tug-of-war through studies completed up to now. Also I would like to add that the only intent for the tug-of-war studies was to compile and examine them in this report. Despite many methods in examining the diversity of tug-of-war, this paper sets a few standards to reveal the present features, and with these standards, the meaning of Korean tug-of-war can be understood.

Gijisi tug‐of‐war is one among many traditional Korean tug‐of‐war games. Playing Gijisi tug‐of‐war forms a temporary community as well as a trans-mission community. In exploring the formed community, this article will discuss how the communities are formed, the features they have, and the meaning such temporary communities have. In addition, this article will examine how continuous and conventional communities enable the Gijisi tug‐of‐war event to take place. While doing so, different features of the tug‐of‐war communities will be discussed by comparing the characteristics of the Gijisi tug‐of‐war community with the Jul Nanjang, a special market held for the tug-of-war. Although different and both have changed, the characteristics of contemporary traditional transmission commu-nity will be clarified. Such comparative research might give Gijisi tug‐of‐war to find its unique position among traditional tug‐of‐war games. Based on the name, Gijisi tug‐of‐war, one may assume that the people who create such a spectacular would be residents in Gijisi‐ri or even residents of Dangjin, which includes Gijisi‐ri. However, participation in the tug‐of‐war is not restricted and is open to visitors from the whole country as well as foreigners. As such, a community for playing tug‐of‐war is temporarily formed. In other words, it is a temporary com-munity that is formed in a specific time and space.

Nowadays, tug-of-war has become a popular traditional game and loved by many communities in Vietnam. Both children and adults love playing this game since it doesn’t require many particular skills or training and doesn’t limit the number of participants. Tug-of-war today is played in dif-ferent cultural and social events in youth camps, student gatherings, and traditional festivals as well as during Tet Lunar New Year celebration in Vietnam. In a traditional tug-of-war game, players are divided into two teams and stand opposite along a string (normally a bamboo cord or a jute rope). A red piece of cloth marks the middle of the cord, which is positioned parallel to a line drawn on the ground that separates the two teams. After a signal (either a whistle or a hand signal) from the referee, players tug the cord as hard as possible to pull the red cloth towards their side. For every match, both teams receive great cheer from surrounding spectators.

UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage Convention, which was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in April 2006, highlighted “Recognizing that com-munities, in particular indigenous communities, groups and, in some case, individuals, play an important role in the production, safeguarding, mainte-nance and re-creation of the intangible cultural heritage, thus helping to enrich cultural diversity and human creativity.” Articles 1 and 15 on purposes of the Convention make further references to issues relating to the participation of communities, groups, and individuals. By respecting and empowering practicing communities to define, desig-nate their intangible heritage, and engage in protecting ICH, many states have come to acknowledge community as one of the central goals of the convention. In fact, the interrelationship between community and heritage seems to be inseparable. Valdirmar Tr. Hasfstein pointed out that “At closer inspection, intangible cultural heritage is practically synonymous with community” and therefore “the purpose of the conven-tion is not only to safeguard traditional practice and expressions, but also, and just as importantly, to safeguard communities” (Valdirmar Tr. Hasfstein 2004, p.212)

The punnuk is a tugging ritual of the village folk from three communities in Hungduan, Ifugao in Northern Luzon, Philippines. It is performed at the confluence of Hapao River and a tributary as the final ritual after the rice harvest. Its consummation brings to a close an agricultural cycle and signals the beginning of a new one. The punnuk is a ritual of pomp and revelry. Garbed in their predominantly red-col-ored attire of the Tuwali ethno-linguistic subgroup, the participants negotiate the terraced fields in a single file amidst lush greens under the blue skies. The tempo builds up as the participants reach the riverbank, each group positioned opposite the other. The excitement is sustained through the final tugging match, and the sinewy brawn of the participants is highlighted by the river’s rushing water.

For Cambodians, like many peoples in Asia, rice is indispensable and firmly attached to socio-religious life of the people. Besides being the principle daily staple, rice—either husked or unhusked, cooked or uncooked—is a necessary ritual material in every religious ceremony. Interestingly, rice is considered to be female in gender. By nurturing an individual person in the form of cooked rice, she is considered Preah Me (August Mother). In addition, rice is venerated in the form of a goddess called Neang Propei.1 She is worshipped for good harvest and prosperity. Neang Propei is no doubt a local adoption/adaptation of the Indian God of Wealth and Prosperity, Vaishravana. Such complex socio-religious aspects involved with rice demonstrate how important rice was and is in everyday life of rice-farming commu-nities, concerning how to obtain enough rice for each year. Besides various techniques and tools that were created, rituals and games are also performed to reassure suffi-ciency of rice. For Cambodian rice-farming communities, those rituals and games are associated with animistic beliefs or are animistic oriented. Examples of these include Loeng Neak Ta, Da Lean, and Chlong Chet.2.

In Hungduan, Ifugao, three communities—Hapao, Baang, and Nungulunan—observe three post-harvest rituals, collectively known as huowah. Punnuk, an intense tugging match in the Hapao River, is the last of the three rituals.

Vietnam has various forms of tug-of-war (kéo co). The characteristics of each form are defined by the ethnic group practicing as well as the location in which the games are performed. While practiced throughout the country, tugging rituals and games are concentrated mostly in the northern midlands, the Red River Delta, and the north central region, the ancient land of the Viet and the cradle of the native wet rice culture and Red River civilization. In addition, the games are played widely by ethnic minorities, such as the Tay, Thai, Giay, La Ha, and H’Mong, in the northern mountains.

The Cambodian teanh prot (“pulling the rope”), which is generally rendered in English as “tug-of-war,” is one of the most important ritual games played nationwide during certain times of year, especially around the three-day New Year holiday in mid-April. Although the game can be played at any time for entertainment, it is ritually played in the afternoon on the last day of the New Year and/or in the afternoon of chlong chet, a rice-associated ceremony observed shortly after the New Year. The event takes place in an open space of the village or Buddhist monastery.