Gyeongbuk Province Invests 4.2 Billion KRW in Cultural Heritage Care Project This Year... Establishing a Continuous Management System

"Advanced Management Plan for 'Triple Benefits': Damage Prevention, Viewing Environment Improvement, and Job Creation"

On December 17 last year, at Imcheonggak in Andong, Gyeongbuk (Treasure No. 182), Jeong Jae-sook, the Commissioner of the Cultural Heritage Administration, and Lee Cheol-woo, the Governor, along with others, are seen shouting "Manse" three times during the "Train Operation Termination Commemoration Event." Andong Imcheonggak (Treasure No. 182) is the birthplace of Seokju Lee Sang-ryong, the first Prime Minister of the Provisional Government, and is a symbolic site showing the oppression of independence activists' families, as the Japanese colonial government laid railroad tracks across the yard of Imcheonggak.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongsangbuk-do announced on the 22nd that it will spend 4.2 billion KRW (half from national and provincial funds) this year to provide continuous management for 1,327 cultural properties in the region, creating about 140 jobs along with an emergency repair system.

Since launching this project in 2013, Gyeongbuk Province has divided management into three zones?Northern, Southeastern, and Western regions?since 2017 for more efficient oversight.

Currently, three organizations?Han Cultural Heritage, Silla Cultural Center, and Gyo-nam Cultural Heritage?are carrying out the cultural property care project in each zone, selected through a public contest held every two years.

In addition to routine management tasks, the care project has been recognized for playing a significant role during various natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, and wildfires. Last summer, during heavy rains and typhoons, emergency comprehensive monitoring was conducted on about 1,000 cultural properties across the province, enabling rapid restoration efforts that minimized damage to cultural assets.

Moreover, following the wildfire in Andong Imdong area on February 21, as well as the one in April last year, the project has effectively protected valuable cultural properties such as Jeong Jae-jong’s House (Provincial Monument No. 170) and Manujeong Pavilion (Cultural Property Material No. 37) by establishing firebreaks and conducting surveillance activities, fulfilling its role as a guardian of cultural heritage.

Kim Sang-cheol, Director of the Culture, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, emphasized, "The cultural property care project is an advanced management approach that achieves three benefits at once: reducing repair costs through preventive activities, improving the viewing environment through continuous management, and revitalizing the local economy through job creation."

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