Since the adoption of the UNESCO 2003 Convention, the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) has become a new phenomenon in developing community participation. The role of the communities was stressed as an integral part of the 2003 Convention although, community participation has been one of the most challenging aspects in the implementation of the Convention. National governments adopting it would be legally bound by the Convention to designate and empower communities in safeguarding the ICH. However, there is no unified set of measures to manage ICH in different local communities. It is not easy for central governments to manage the ICH practiced by different local communities. Therefore, the paper aims to give an overview regarding the challenges of the Republic of Korea and the Kyrgyz Republic by examining the roles of the two governments within the scope of the Convention.