Two Asia-Pacific Register Entries in Four Years... "Focus on Healing Disaster Trauma"

Lee Yoonjung, Division Director at the Korea Heritage Service
Went to great lengths to revise nomination files incorporating preliminary assessment results
"We will make active efforts to preserve non-designated heritage"

Lee Yoonjeong, Director of the World Heritage Policy Division at the Korea Heritage Service, attending the 11th General Meeting of the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific / Photo by Lee Jonggil

"The selections were made by considering the importance of the records and the quality of the nomination files." These were the criteria Lee Yoonjung, director of the World Heritage Policy Division at the Korea Heritage Service, used to select two of the five candidates for UNESCO's Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register. The process did not end with the selection: revised nomination files incorporating the preliminary assessment results issued by the Subcommittee on International Memory of the World Register in May were also submitted.

At its 11th General Meeting, held on November 5 local time at the National Archives of Indonesia in Jakarta, the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) decided to inscribe the "Danwon High School 4.16 Archive" and "Suunjapbang and Eumsikdimibang." Korea's candidates were selected through an open call and a review by the Korean Memory of the World Committee. Each country may submit up to three nominations every two years, but Korea submitted only two this time. Lee said the decision followed a review of their chances of being inscribed.

The two collections of records differ in character, and were recognized for different merits. Lee said of the Danwon High School 4.16 Archive, "The process of creating the records itself captures the process of healing and recovery from the pain and trauma of a disaster." Regarding Suunjapbang and Eumsikdimibang, she said, "We focused on the fact that they are the first cookbooks written for private use and the oldest surviving Korean-language cookbooks in complete form."

The 4.16 Memory Storage, which has collected the records for the Danwon High School 4.16 Archive, and the Gyeonggi Life Safety Education Center jointly served as the nominating bodies. The nomination files for both collections were submitted through the Korean Memory of the World Committee and were further refined after selection. The meeting was postponed from July to November because of circumstances in host country Indonesia, but this did not affect preparations, as the revised nomination files had already been submitted. Lee said no comments or objections were received during the public comment and objection periods.

Lee Yoonjung, Director of the World Heritage Policy Division at the Korea Heritage Service, attends the 11th General Meeting of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme Asia-Pacific Regional Committee. Photo by Lee Jonggil

This is Korea's first inscription in four years, since 2022. The gap arose at the open-call stage. In 2022, the Korea Heritage Service held an open call to select records for nomination in 2023, but received no submissions. With the two new inscriptions, the Asia-Pacific Regional Register now has eight entries. Including the 20 entries on the International Register, Korea has a total of 28.

As the number of records grows, their ongoing care remains a challenge. Asked how the preservation of privately held records could be supported, Lee pointed to a new initiative. A budget of KRW 350 million for surveys of non-designated heritage inscribed on the Memory of the World Register has been included in the 2027 budget. "Through this initiative, we will make active efforts to preserve non-designated heritage inscribed on the Memory of the World Register," she said.

Preparations for the next round of nominations are already underway. From October 26 to December 28, the Korea Heritage Service is accepting nominations of records for the 2027 Memory of the World Register. The submission deadlines are expected to be September 2027 for the regional register and November 2027 for the international register. "We will continue our efforts to have Korea's outstanding documentary heritage inscribed on the Memory of the World Register," Lee said.

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