Chungnam, Promoting UNESCO Registration of Records on 'Taean Oil Spill Damage Recovery'

Photos of Taean beach during the 2007 Taean oil spill accident (left) and the current view of Taean beach over 10 years later with the oil slick gone. Source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is promoting the registration of records documenting the process of overcoming the Taean oil spill damage as a UNESCO Memory of the World.

According to the province on the 8th, the records of overcoming the Taean oil spill damage, also called the "Miracle of the West Sea," contain the occurrence, response, and recovery process of the Hebei Spirit oil spill accident that happened on December 7, 2007. The list of public and private records collected so far amounts to about 200,000 items.

In particular, these records include the participation of 1.23 million volunteers in overcoming the disaster, which adds significance. This is because a large-scale volunteer effort, unprecedented worldwide, voluntarily contributed at the oil spill site.

In this regard, the province plans to develop and supplement the rationale for applying for the UNESCO Memory of the World registration of the Taean oil spill recovery records and accelerate the registration process.

As part of preparing for the UNESCO registration of the records, the province held the "International Conference on Sharing the Process of Overcoming the Taean Oil Spill Damage" on the 7th in cooperation with the Chungnam National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation.

The conference was held under the theme "The Global Importance of the Taean Oil Spill Recovery Process," discussing UNESCO registration strategies based on domestic and international cases and reflecting on the significance of the oil spill recovery process.

Above all, the conference included discussions on developing and supplementing the rationale for applying for the records' UNESCO registration.

First, Roslyn Russell, former chairperson of the UNESCO International Advisory Committee, gave the keynote speech titled "Registration of Disaster Records as a Memory of the World."

Additionally, Kim Do-gyun, associate researcher at the Korea Environment Institute, presented on "Social Disasters of Oil Spill Accidents," and Kim Gwi-bae, head of the UNESCO Korea Committee headquarters; M. Taufik, director of the Indonesian National Archives; Lee Pyeong-ju, former secretary-general of the Seosan Taean Environmental Movement Federation; and Jeong Byeong-gwan, senior researcher at the National Park Research Institute, shared domestic and international oil spill cases through thematic presentations, emphasizing the significance of overcoming the Taean oil spill accident.

Yang Seung-jo, governor of Chungnam Province, said, "Despite pessimistic forecasts from global environmental experts, we completed a grand project with the hands and sweat of 1.23 million people. This is an epic created by the remarkable capability of our people who did not see the crisis as a crisis but rather used it as an opportunity."

He added, "The province intends to preserve the process of overcoming the Taean oil spill accident as a world historical record and a symbol of hope. Based on the discussions at the conference, the province will make every effort to prepare so that the Miracle of Taean can be registered as a Memory of the World."

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