National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Iron casting is one of the oldest professions of mankind. Iron technology is assumed to have been introduced to Korea around the 5th~6th centuries BCE. According to “Dongyichuan (Biographies of Dongyi) in Weishu (Book of Wei)” from Sanguozhi (Records of the Three Kingdoms), Koreans produced and traded iron ware. Considering the crucial role of iron in the development of civilization, iron technology and smiths were matters of national interest in ancient states. With the introduction of Buddhism to the Korean peninsula, Buddhist temples were built all over the country, and numerous temple bells were cast. Naturally, bell founding became an important profession. Korean temple bells are characterized by their clear sound with deep resonance and exquisite surface decoration. Mostly shaped like upturned crockery jars, Korean bells typically have a dragon-shaped hook and a sound tube at the top. The oldest known temple bell in Korea is the Bronze Bell of Sangwonsa Temple in Odaesan Mountain, made in 725 during the Unified Silla Period. In terms of size and aesthetic value, the Sacred Bell of the Great King Seongdeok, dated 771, is considered peerless. Korean temple bells were traditionally cast using beeswax models. Though they vary according to the size of individual bells, Korean traditional-style temple bells are basically cast with an alloy of copper (80%) and tin (17%). For the model, beeswax is mixed with cow fat at a ratio of 8:2, but the ratio changes according to climate. The authentic bell founding process is as follows: bricks are piled to form a support mount slightly smaller than the intended bell size; a mixture of clay and sand is applied to the brick mount until the intended bell form is obtained, and the surface is smoothed out with a mixture of graphite powder and water; a wax model engraved with all the decorative patterns is made over the mount; the model is covered twice with a thick mixture of clay and coarse sand and allowed to dry; heat is applied to melt the wax inside; molten alloy is poured into the cavity; after the alloy cools and hardens, the mold is removed, the bell is trimmed, and the surface designs are given their final touches.

The Chèm Communal House Festival is held to commemorate the merits of Saint Chèm (Ly Ong Trong), a talented general in the BC era who defeated the invaders and saved the country, and is considered by the people as the Thanh Hoang. The festival takes place annually from the 14th to the 16th of May (Lunar calendar) at Chèm Communal House. People from three sister villages: Chèm, Hoàng Xá and Hoàng Liên join in organizing the festival with many solemn rituals: the procession, bathing, releasing animals, etc. The highlight is the water procession: three dragon boats from the three villages row out to the middle of the Red River to scoop up river water and pour it into jars, performing three turns before swimming back to shore. Some activities took place enthusiastically such as: making sweet soup, swimming, wrestling, playing human chess, playing cards, etc. The Chèm communal house festival is a unique traditional festival closely associated with the history of the nation, very typical of popular cultural activities among the rice farmers of the Red River Delta.

" Pha-ak " is a popular traditional which is very tasty and can be stored for a long time. There are many types of Pha-ak, such as fish Pha-ak, shrimp Pha-ak, krem Pha-ak and some vegetable Pha-ak, such as chinese turnip Pha-ak, cucumber Pha-ak or bamboo shoots Pha-ak. But here is only the fish Pha-ak is chosen to describe here. It can be made into many kinds of food, such as steamed Pha-ak, fried Pha-ak, chopped Pha-ak or grilled Pha-ak. As for the soup, it is cooked with Sngor Pha-ak with wax gourd, luffa gourd and so on. The Pha-ak making season coincides with prahok, from the month of Bos, Luna calendar, to the month of Phalkun or Chet. When prahok is made, some people also make additional Pha-ak for eating during the dry season, when food is scarce, and during the harvest season. There is also a step-by-step process of making similar to prahok. Ingredients for making Pha-ak include fish, salt, fermented black sticky rice, and sugar. Choosing fish to make Pha-ak is different from choosing fish to make prahok. They need fresh fish, usually large fish. First, wash the fish with clean water and leave it to dry. Then remove the scale, the abdomen, the tail and fins. The fish must be cleaned thoroughly because the fish will be clean as many times as prahok. If there is water on the fish skin, Pha-ak will be spoiled. The cleaned fish is placed in a metal bowl, sprinkled with salt, and the fish is squeezed with salt. Jars for fermentation must be washed and dried. Salt is sprinkled on the bottom part of the jar, and the salted fish is stacked in layers and pressed tightly. After stacking, they sprinkle some more salt on top and take a piece of bamboo to snap on top, then take a cloth to cover the mouth of the jar to prevent air or flies from laying eggs. They have to leave it for one to two and a half months to get rid of the bad smell, and then they take it out to “Chav”. The method is to take the water from the fish Pha-ak, mix it with palm sugar and fermented black sticky rice, and mix it with the fish. If the fish Pha-ak weighs 10 kg, 1.5 kg of sugar is added and 1.5 kg of fermented black sticky rice. After Chav, they are left for another 20 days or a month so that Pha-ak does not smell bad and can be used for cooking.

This is the traditional dance of the Dusun Lotud ethnic group from the Tuaran district where it is also known as "Madsayau". The Sumayau is the main element of a special chanting ceremony or "Mengahau" as it is called in Dusun. It is not performed in ordinary celebrations. A "Monolian", an elderly female priestess who is also a ritual specialist, would lead the dance ceremony. It is a rule of the tradition that this role is held only by the descendents of the previous "Monolian". "Mengahau" is a big affair and is usually celebrated for 5 days and nights. The purpose of this ceremony is to venerate the "gusi-gusi" (a type of antique jars believed to possess spirits) by chanting ancient ritual verses. It is also conducted to honour dead family members, similar to the "kenduri arwah" (feast for the departed) commonly observed by the Muslim Malay community. As soon as the music starts, the dancers would sway towards the dance floor. Every movement of the hands would be in harmony with the rhythm of the music. However, the movement of the feet are slower as compared to the hands. One simply walks with very small steps in an unhurried manner. The pace of the dance increase with applause from the audience.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Onggijang refers to the skill of making earthenware pots and jars, or to an artisan with such a skill. Koreans have used earthenware pots and jars for thousands of years. The place where an earthenware artisan worked was called Onggijeom, which was divided into a workshop and a kiln. Traditional pots and jars, along with porcelain items, were the main items produced in private kilns. Pots and jars were made after the application of caustic soda to the surface of clay-made objects and putting them through a pre-firing stage. Just 40 or 50 years ago, there were many places selling traditional pots and jars across the country. Their number stood at about 500 when surveys were made in 1968 and 1969. However, they have been pushed aside by their machine-made western cousins. Traditionally, caustic soda was used as glazing in the production of pots and jars. Recently, it was replaced by a lead oxide named Gwangmyeongdan. With the use of lead glazing, the quality of pots and jars declined and the number of Onggijeom decreased to about 250 by 1984 and to less than 199 by 1989. Stainless steel and plastic goods have pushed traditional pots and jars out of the market.