Buma Democratic Uprising Declaration, Unified Inter-Korean Team Gold Medal Selected as Preliminary Cultural Heritage

Six Modern and Contemporary Records and Personal Belongings Selected Across Politics, Culture and Sports

Declaration of Democratic Struggle of the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising / Korea Heritage Service.

Six records and personal belongings that trace the course of modern Korean history have been selected as preliminary cultural heritage items. They span the fields of politics, culture and sports.

The preliminary cultural heritage program selects modern and contemporary cultural heritage items less than 50 years old that are considered highly valuable for preservation, with the aim of preventing their damage or loss. It was introduced to lay the foundation for future cultural resources in local communities. Last year, 10 items were selected for the first time, including the “Beopjeong Papillon Chair.”

This year's selections are heritage items dating from the late 1970s through the 2000s, a period marked by industrialization, democratization and the end of the Cold War. Two records from the Buma Democratic Uprising, a pivotal event in South Korea's democratization, were included. The “Declaration of Democratic Struggle of the Buma Democratic Uprising” is the original document written and distributed at Pusan National University on October 15, 1979, to announce a protest. The “Kim Taekyong Reporting Manuscript on the Buma Democratic Uprising” is a record compiled by Kim Taekyong, a Busan Ilbo reporter based in Masan, after covering the uprising from October 18 to 21 that year. The Korea Heritage Service said, “The records have high historical value because few accounts of the uprising in Masan have survived compared with those from Busan.”

'Pigeon Choir' comic manuscript and 'Dokgo Tak's Pigeon Choir' TV animation script / Korea Heritage Service.

In the fields of culture and the arts, comics and art heritage reflecting the spirit of their times were added to the list. The “Dove Choir Comic Manuscript and Script for the TV Animation Dokgo Tak’s Dove Choir” consists of Lee Sangmoo's handwritten manuscripts for “Dove Choir,” created in 1978 and 1979, and the script for its television animated adaptation. The Korea Heritage Service said, “The handwritten manuscripts are valuable because they date from a time when original manuscripts were commonly discarded after publication.” It added that the script was rare because it bears the author's handwritten revisions.

The “Lee Ungno’s People Series and Related Personal Belongings” comprises the artist's tools and a vest he wore while working, associated with the “People” series that Lee Ungno focused on creating from the 1980s onward. The series gives form to the people's yearning for democracy and freedom, as witnessed by Lee Ungno during the May 18 Democratization Movement in 1980.

In sports, heritage items demonstrating challenge, solidarity and inter-Korean unity were included. The “Mountaineer Kim Hongbin’s Climbing Equipment and Records” consists of the equipment and journals of Kim Hongbin, the first mountaineer with a disability to climb all 14 Himalayan peaks above 8,000 meters and the highest peaks on all seven continents. Among the items, a jumaring device connector and an ice axe were specially made by fellow mountaineer Jo Byeongrae for Kim, who lost his fingers in a climbing accident in 1991.

Monument commemorating the inter-Korean unified team at the 41st World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba / Korea Heritage Service.

The “Monument Commemorating the Unified North and South Korean Team at the 41st World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba” commemorates the women's team victory by the first-ever unified inter-Korean team, formed in 1991. It includes a gold medal belonging to South Korean player Hong Chaok and a table tennis paddle bearing a message from North Korean player Yu Sunbok. Last year, a table tennis paddle bearing the handwritten signatures of the unified team and a triangular flag (pennant) were selected under the same name. The gold medal and paddle have now been added to the monument.

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