The article has examined the nation building of folk dance and pondered upon the format of folk dance festival/competition as a way to construct national identity, with the cases of Israel and Korea. Given the apparent effort to excavate and construct folk dance for newly formed nation-states, I analyzed the representative platforms for folk dance in both countries: the Dalia Festival in Israel and Jeongukminsokyesulkyeongyeondaehui in South Korea. Examining the origin and operation of these platforms in each country’s sociocultural context, I argue that folklore is it reflects the society’s desire for folklore in nation building. The comparison between Israel and Korea in the way folk dance is represented reveals that it is not the format itself but the desire beneath the festival or the competition that defines and shapes what folk dance is.