Sewol Disaster Records and Historic Cookbooks Face Asia-Pacific Inscription Vote on Nov. 5 (Roundup)

Lee Ji Seong, director of the 4.16 Memory Archive: "Records of responsibility and change"
Myka of the Korean Studies Institute: "Complementary contributions by men and women"
South Korea submits two nominations to the regional register; vote set for Nov. 5

Records documenting the experiences of citizens affected by disaster and centuries-old culinary knowledge are under review for inscription on UNESCO's Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register.

Paper records from the April 16 Memorial Classroom at Danwon High School / Korea Heritage Service.

The UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) held its 11th General Meeting at the National Archives of Indonesia in Jakarta on November 4 (local time), where South Korea presented its nominations for the "Danwon High School 4.16 Archive" and "Suunjapbang and Eumsikdimibang." A vote on whether to inscribe them will be held on November 5.

A total of 24 nominations are under review this cycle, including two from South Korea. Two are joint nominations: "Batik Records: Trade and Cultural Networks in Asia and the Pacific," submitted jointly by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and "Temulawak Texts and Records: Local Knowledge for Modern Medicine," submitted jointly by Indonesia and Timor-Leste. In addition to South Korea's two nominations, individual nominations include India's ancient treatise on statecraft, the "Arthashastra"; the Philippines' "Laguna Copperplate Inscription"; and Mongolia's "Iconographic Biography of the Buddha."

The "Danwon High School 4.16 Archive" was presented by Lee Ji-seong, director of the 4.16 Memory Archive. He described it as a record of memory viewed from the perspectives of civil society and the bereaved families. At its core are classroom records, diaries and accounts of students' and teachers' final lessons, preserved on their desks at Danwon High School. It also includes citizens' memorial activities and the process of social healing experienced by bereaved families and survivors. Lee said, "Danwon High School students and teachers accounted for 86% of the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster."

The archive comprises 235,220 items. Lee said it was "the culmination of a memorial process sustained by students and bereaved families for more than 1,000 days." He stressed that the archive should be preserved because trauma can be overcome through memory, and that this can lead to social action to ensure safety education is delivered as a mandatory requirement.

The archive is organized into seven categories: records of the disaster site; records documenting the victims' lives; records of survival and recovery; Danwon High School classroom records; records of efforts to preserve the classrooms; oral histories; and records of public mourning and global solidarity. The records were collected and organized in accordance with the International Council on Archives (ICA) Code of Ethics.

“Suunjapbang” inner pages / Korea Heritage Service.

Lee emphasized that the value of these records lies in who created them and how they are used. He described the archive as "a pioneering example of disaster records led by those directly affected and citizens, and a contemporary model showing human solidarity and recovery after a disaster." He also noted that it links student safety with educational values and offers an educational approach to overcoming disasters.

He said that, to protect these values, the records had been fully digitized and integrated into a database. The storage facility is equipped with temperature and humidity controls and an anti-theft security system. Public access is provided in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

Lee said, "We hope these records will become records of responsibility and change, not merely records of grief, and that they will be preserved as a shared memory for a safer world and passed on to future generations."

Suunjapbang and Eumsikdimibang were presented by Myka Vandendriessche, MOWCAP coordinator at the Office of Korean Studies Resources at the Korean Studies Institute. She said the two books are among the oldest surviving privately produced records related to Korean food culture. They document how men and women passed down culinary knowledge across generations and complemented one another's contributions. They also record how knowledge of distilled spirits became localized in Joseon society.

Lee Ji-sung, director of the 4.16 Memory Repository, speaks at the 11th General Meeting of the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP), held at the National Archives of Indonesia in Jakarta on April 4 (local time). Photo by Lee Jong-gil.

Suunjapbang was written in the 16th century by Kim Yu and supplemented by Kim Ryeong. It was passed down in the Gwangsan Kim clan for more than 400 years and designated a Treasure in 2021. The book's structure helped preserve its original form: Kim Ryeong placed blank pages between Kim Yu's original text and his own additions. It is now preserved and studied by the Korean Studies Institute.

Eumsikdimibang was written by Jang Gye-hyang in the 17th century. It is the oldest surviving Korean cookbook known to have been written by a woman. Written in Hangeul, it made culinary knowledge more accessible to women in the household. Vandendriessche said, "The fact that Jang Gye-hyang instructed her female descendants to preserve the original while also making copies shows a remarkable awareness of the importance of preserving records." The original has been preserved at Kyungpook National University Library since the 1960s.

The two books' historical significance lies in the process of localization they document. After distillation techniques spread across Eurasia during the Mongol Empire, different kinds of distilled spirits developed throughout Asia. Soju in Korea was one of them. Vandendriessche said, "They are rare evidence identifying the people, places and times involved in the development of distillation knowledge within a local community over more than a century."

She also highlighted the collaboration between men and women as another source of value. In Joseon, culinary knowledge was passed down mainly within households, with women at the center of its transmission. Kim Yu recorded in Suunjapbang practical knowledge rooted in the customs of the local community. More than a century later, Jang Gye-hyang drew on that knowledge to add three new types of distilled spirits and more detailed distillation techniques to Eumsikdimibang. Vandendriessche said, "The two books share identical or closely related recipes for six types of alcoholic beverages and one dish," describing them as "a distinctive culinary lineage shaped by the complementary contributions of men and women."

She said the originals are kept in a climate-controlled storage facility where access is restricted and their condition is assessed regularly, while digital copies make them more accessible. The two books are also being introduced to the public through exhibitions in South Korea and abroad, academic programs, food experiences and cultural events. Vandendriessche said, "Through these activities, the manuscripts continue to generate cultural, educational and economic value for modern society."

Myka Vandendriessche, who oversees MOWCAP at the Office of Korean Studies Resources Management at the Korea Studies Advancement Center, speaks at the 11th General Meeting of the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP), held at the National Archives of Indonesia in Jakarta on the 4th (local time). Photo by Lee Jong-gil.

Eligibility for inscription is assessed based on authenticity, integrity and regional significance. Under MOWCAP guidelines, authenticity concerns whether the nominated records are what they claim to be, while integrity concerns whether they have been preserved intact and in their entirety. To demonstrate regional significance, a nomination must meet at least one of the following criteria: historical significance; significance in form or style; or social, communal or spiritual significance.

The review involves a comparative assessment against other records. Applicants must research similar records at the national, regional and international levels to demonstrate the nomination's originality and rarity. The Korea Heritage Service invited nominations from October to December 2024 and selected the two records in August 2025. After review by the Korean Memory of the World Committee, it submitted English-language applications, photographs and videos to the MOWCAP Secretariat in September 2025. Each country may submit up to three nominations every two years, and South Korea submitted two this cycle.

If both records are inscribed, South Korea's Asia-Pacific Regional Register entries will increase from six to eight. The records already on the register are "Korean Pyeonaek," "Petitions of 10,000 People, Maninso," "Royal Palace Plaques of the Joseon Dynasty," "Naebanggasa," "Samguk Yusa" and "Records of the Overcoming of the Taean Oil Spill." With 20 entries on the International Register, South Korea will have a total of 28 Memory of the World inscriptions.

The "Records of the Overcoming of the Taean Oil Spill" was the first disaster-related record to be added to the register. It comprises 220,000 documents, photographs and publications documenting efforts to overcome the 2007 oil spill off the Taean Peninsula. If the Danwon High School 4.16 Archive is inscribed, it will become the second disaster-related record on the same register.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.