Korean-Ethnic Seesaw and Swing

Korean-ethnic swing and seesaw have a long history, popular across the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and other Korean-ethnic rural areas, and are the folk sports most loved by Korean-ethnic women. In 2006 "Korean-ethnic Seesaw and Swing" entered the first national ICH list (item 296, code Ⅵ-14), declared by the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Jilin, with the Yanji Amateur Sports School as its custodian.

The swing hangs its ropes from a tall tree or timber frame, with women standing on the board to leap high, prized for height, grace, ease and agility; the seesaw has two women at the ends of a long board taking turns to launch each other into the air, striking graceful poses in flight, and both are now events at the National Ethnic Games.

The seesaw and swing carry the festival life and bodily aesthetics of Korean-ethnic women, an important window onto Korean-ethnic folklore and women's culture, and one of the most recognisable women's folk pastimes of Yanbian.