World Subak Federation
Preserving the Warrior Body Culture of Northern Korea
Research, Documentation, Education, and International Cooperation for the Preservation of Traditional Korean Body Culture and Subak Heritage.
A federation for traditional Korean body culture.
The World Subak Federation is dedicated to the preservation, documentation, research, and international promotion of traditional Korean body culture, historical martial heritage, and living cultural traditions associated with Subak.
Our activities focus on safeguarding endangered knowledge systems through historical research, digital archiving, educational resources, academic publication, and international cooperation.
The federation works to connect traditional Korean movement culture with modern heritage preservation, open education, and global cultural dialogue.
Rooted in centuries of Korean records.
Subak appears throughout Korean historical records as a traditional form of martial and physical culture. Historical documents, oral traditions, visual archives, and living transmission lineages provide important evidence for understanding Korean embodied heritage.
The preservation effort combines historical investigation with contemporary research methods in order to better understand and document traditional Korean movement culture.
Heritage carried through human transmission.
The preservation of traditional culture depends upon human transmission.
Song Chang-ryeol (1932–2017), a Korean War veteran, Republic of Korea national merit recipient, and traditional Subak transmitter, dedicated his life to preserving and teaching traditional movement systems associated with Korean martial body culture.
His demonstrations, teachings, photographs, writings, and oral testimony continue to provide valuable resources for researchers and future generations.
Global cooperation for cultural heritage.
The federation supports international educational, archival, and research activities through cooperation with educational institutions, cultural organizations, academic repositories, and international networks.
- UNESCO-UNEVOC Global Community participation
- United Nations Major Groups and Stakeholders engagement
- UNDRR-related educational activities
- WIPO Traditional Knowledge discussions
- SSRN academic publications
- Zenodo open-access repositories
- OER Commons educational resources
- KOCW educational materials
- MERLOT educational platform participation
- International academic collaboration
Safeguarding endangered Korean body culture.
Our mission is to preserve endangered Korean traditional body culture, document historical knowledge, support educational initiatives, and promote international cooperation that ensures Subak heritage remains accessible to scholars, practitioners, and future generations worldwide.