As the division between North and South Korea continues, cultural cooperation projects that were intended to be jointly pursued are facing significant setbacks. The Ministry of Unification's Korean Language Dictionary project is expected to enter a new phase, as the joint compilation meetings have not been held for 11 years and only about 40% of the draft has been completed. A bill has been proposed to eliminate the legal expiration date of the project.
According to the National Assembly on November 11, 21 lawmakers from both the ruling People Power Party and the opposition Democratic Party introduced an amendment to the "Act on the Joint Compilation of the Korean Language Dictionary." The amendment, which includes 13 members from the People Power Party and 8 from the Democratic Party, aims to remove the expiration clause in Article 2 of the act and add the objective of "resolving language differences between North and South Korea and establishing a foundation for integration" to the project's goals.
Under current law, the project's validity is set to expire on April 26, 2028. Due to delays in compilation caused by strained inter-Korean relations, the project timeline has been extended three times—in 2013, 2018, and 2021. This time, rather than seeking another extension, the proposal aims to remove the sunset clause altogether, thereby ensuring the project's ongoing existence. The goal is to expand the project's role beyond joint dictionary compilation to include addressing language differences and educational initiatives.
The Korean Language Dictionary project, which began in 2005, has been stalled since the 25th joint meeting in December 2015. Since then, the South Korean side has continued to write and edit the manuscript independently. Of the 307,000 words jointly selected by both Koreas, only 125,000, or 40.7%, have been agreed upon, meaning nearly 60% of the total manuscript has not received final approval from both sides.
Despite the proposed bill, the Ministry of Unification plans to complete the publication of a printed dictionary and the electronic dictionary project within the legal timeframe. The plan is to first publish and distribute the printed dictionary, and if progress is made in inter-Korean discussions, a supplementary edition reflecting the unapproved portions will be released. Consequently, the budget for educational and academic cooperation projects, including the dictionary compilation, has increased from 2.64 billion won this year to 3.95 billion won next year, a 51.7% rise. The budget for the compilation project has surged from 362 million won to 1.788 billion won, with 1.257 billion won allocated for the new printed dictionary compilation.
As inter-Korean cultural exchange projects shift to a South-centric approach or face prolonged suspension due to communication issues with the North, there are calls for the project committee to present specific tasks, performance goals, and financial plans. For instance, the joint excavation project at Manwoldae in Gaeseong has been halted since 2018. Efforts to jointly register Taekwondo as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage have also failed due to negotiation issues with the North.
If the project committee becomes a permanent organization, ongoing funding for operational expenses will be necessary. According to the financial statements released by the committee for 2025, personnel costs were 1.707 billion won, rent was 329.94 million won, and welfare expenses were 149.83 million won. If the committee maintains its organization for language integration research and education after completing the existing dictionary compilation, it will need annual financial support to cover these operational costs. By 2027, operational expenses are projected to reach 2.162 billion won, exceeding the compilation budget. This is similar to this year's operational expenses (approximately 2.242 billion won) when the compilation budget is excluded.
The National Assembly Budget Office has pointed out that, given the current difficulties in joint compilation with the North, a comprehensive review of the potential for inter-Korean negotiations, existing compilation achievements, the scope of South Korean solo projects, the utilization of outcomes, and post-management of the electronic dictionary should be conducted before determining the project's scale and direction. In light of the uncertainty surrounding negotiations with the North, it is suggested that rather than concentrating resources in the short term, the effectiveness of the project and future operational plans should be prioritized.
A Ministry of Unification official stated, "We will complete the dictionary compilation work that can be done at this stage and address the unapproved portions through future inter-Korean agreements," adding that efforts to study language differences and promote education and consensus-building will continue even after the dictionary is published.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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