How Did the Claim That “Gangneung Danoje Stole China’s Duanwu Festival” Spread?

In 2005, Gangneung Danoje was inscribed on UNESCO’s list of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

What was inscribed at that time was not the entirety of Korea’s Dano-related traditions.
More precisely, it was Gangneung Danoje, a festival that has been passed down specifically in the Gangneung region of Gangwon Province.

Gangneung Danoje is a local festival that begins with brewing sacred liquor in the fourth lunar month, followed by rituals honoring the guardian deity of Daegwallyeong, the Yeongsinje rite, Dano gut (shamanic ritual), the Gwanno Mask Dance, farmers’ music, traditional wrestling, swing riding, and washing one’s hair in sweet flag water.
According to Korea’s National Heritage Portal, Gangneung Danoje is a traditional festival combining Confucian-style rituals, shamanic ceremonies, mask performances, folk games, and marketplace festivities.

But when this news reached China, the message became shorter.

“Gangneung Danoje was inscribed by UNESCO.”

This sentence soon turned into:

“Korea submitted Dano to UNESCO.”

And then it became:

“Korea stole China’s Duanwu Festival.”

That’s where the problem began.

What UNESCO recognized was not the date “Dano” nor the name of the holiday itself.
It was a specific regional festival preserved in Gangneung.

But online, such distinctions rarely hold.
The Chinese characters are the same, and the date—lunar May 5—is the same.
At a glance, it’s easy to misunderstand.

China’s Duanwu Festival is usually described with the legend of Qu Yuan, dragon boat races, and zongzi.
UNESCO’s entry for the Dragon Boat Festival also introduces it as a celebration held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in China and various parts of the world.

In contrast, Gangneung Danoje centers on local communal rituals, shamanic ceremonies, mask performances, and folk games.
The National Heritage Portal describes it as a festival with the character of a ritual praying for abundant harvests, emphasizing traditions that honor mountain spirits and local guardian deities around Daegwallyeong.

They share the same date, but the actual content is different.

At the heart of China’s Duanwu Festival are rivers, boats, and the legacy of Qu Yuan.
At the heart of Gangneung Danoje are Daegwallyeong, village rituals, Dano gut, and the Gwanno Mask Dance.

Both belong to the broader East Asian cultural sphere of lunar May 5, but it is difficult to argue that one directly borrowed or copied the other.

Even so, the claim persisted.

The reason is simple.
The sentence “Korea stole China’s Duanwu Festival” is short and powerful.
Meanwhile, the explanation—“Korea inscribed a distinct regional festival called Gangneung Danoje, which differs in rituals and traditions from China’s Duanwu Festival”—is long.

Online, the shorter version always spreads first.

Records show that such backlash existed in some Chinese public opinion after 2005.
The Korean National Commission for UNESCO notes that after Gangneung Danoje was inscribed, some in China reacted by claiming Korea had taken China’s Duanwu Festival.
CGTN also summarized that Korea’s push to inscribe Gangneung Danoje triggered backlash in China, and that China’s Dragon Boat Festival was later inscribed separately in 2009.

What matters is this:

Gangneung Danoje being inscribed by UNESCO did not erase China’s Duanwu Festival, nor did it prevent China from celebrating it.
In fact, China’s Dragon Boat Festival was separately inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2009.

Ultimately, this controversy grew more from the name than from the culture itself.

The same characters for “Dano.”
The same date, lunar May 5.
And the authority associated with UNESCO inscription.

When these three elements combined, Gangneung’s regional festival suddenly found itself at the center of a “cultural theft” controversy.

But if we look only at the facts, the conclusion is simple:

What Korea inscribed was not China’s Duanwu Festival.
It was Gangneung Danoje.

China’s Duanwu Festival exists separately and was separately inscribed.
Gangneung Danoje, too, was recognized independently as a regional tradition passed down in Gangneung.

Sharing a name does not make two cultures identical.
Sharing a date does not mean one stole from the other.

Misunderstandings often begin when long explanations are replaced by short bursts of outrage.

Dark Thread Notes

This case does not involve ghosts or monsters.
But it resembles an internet urban legend.

At first, there was a single fact.
Then a short sentence appeared.
Finally, what remained was a claim people shared without checking.

“Korea stole China’s Duanwu Festival.”

It is provocative, but it does not accurately describe the facts.

A more accurate statement would be:

In 2005, UNESCO recognized Gangneung Danoje of Korea’s Gangneung region, and China’s Dragon Boat Festival was separately inscribed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.