Preserving Endangered Martial Heritage Through Digital Documentation: The Case of Korean Subak and the Kim Won-bo Footage

In recent years, researchers and practitioners of traditional Korean Subak have been studying rare historical footage connected to Kim Won-bo, a Korean independence activist during the Japanese colonial period.

The footage is important not only as martial arts material, but also as an example of embodied cultural knowledge that risks disappearing across generations.

Traditional movement systems often contain historical memory, discipline, body coordination, and community identity that cannot be fully preserved through text alone. Digital documentation, archival research, and intergenerational teaching are therefore becoming increasingly important.

This raises broader questions for heritage education and TVET communities worldwide:

How can endangered embodied traditions be responsibly documented and transmitted to future generations?

Can traditional movement knowledge contribute to modern education, discipline, wellbeing, and cultural continuity?

We are interested in hearing perspectives from educators, researchers, and cultural practitioners working on similar challenges in other regions of the world.