The world is currently facing a calamity of unprecedented proportions. In this lecture, I plan to discuss how humanity will change in the future, and how we draw on wisdom from our ancestors. Many have used the expression “nature striking back” to describe the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation we are facing now is completely a consequence of our actions in the past. More than a million people have died from COVID-19, and the economic impact has been huge. It is said that COVID-19 originated from a species of animals called pangolin. Most Koreans would not have even seen a pangolin in real life. However, pangolins make up a large part of the illegal wild animal trade. This is due to the Chinese belief that their scales have medicinal properties, which is in fact not true.

On 7 July 2020, a special guest lecture by a prominent scholar was held at the International Conference Hall of the National Intangible Heritage Center (NIHC) in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Entitled “An Ecological Turn in the Post-COVID-19 Era and the Future of Intangible Cultural Heritage,” this special lecture was prepared to further the public’s understanding and appreciation of “Humanity, Nature and Intangible Cultural Heritage,” which is the theme of the 2020 World Intangible Cultural Heritage Forum, scheduled to be held at the NIHC in September.