Naebang-gasa is a representative female literary genre of Korea. The nominated item is a collection of 347 naebang-gasa works created, recited, and recorded by Korean women from 1794 to the late 1960s. Those works were produced in diverse formats including individual single-leaf documents, scrolls, and a codex.



The nominated item serves as rare evidence showing that women engaged in an independent activity from the 18th to mid-20th centuries in East Asia. Women could independently express their own thoughts through naebang-gasa despite the dominance of patriarchy across East Asia at the time. Among the thoughts delivered through the nominated item include ideas women had about historic events that East Asia underwent in the 18th-20th centuries.



In addition, the nominated item demonstrates the process in which a new writing system is established as the official script of a social group. Naebang-gasa works were all written in the Korean alphabet, or Hangeul, a writing system coming with clearly stated ideas behind its creation. The nominated item testifies to the birth of a new literary genre fully reflecting specific characteristics of the Korean language. The nominated item contributes to understanding how a new writing system is utilized before obtaining the status of official script.