'Korean Sign Language Textbook Suhwa' and 'Firefighting Helicopter Kkachi 2' Designated as Cultural Heritage

'Goseong Old Ganseong Base Banseok' and 'Seoul Yonsei University Underwood House' Also Registered as Cultural Heritage

Korean Sign Language Textbook Sign Language

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 5th that it has registered 'Korean Sign Language Textbook Sign Language,' 'Firefighting Helicopter Kkachi No. 2,' 'Goseong Old Ganseong Basalt,' and 'Seoul Yonsei University Underwood House' as cultural heritage assets.

The Korean Sign Language Textbook Sign Language is a textbook systematized and explained in Hangul by the principal and teachers of Seoul School for the Deaf (now National Seoul School for the Deaf) in 1963. It organizes idiomatic sign language frequently used by the deaf community rather than grammatical or artificial sign language. It is highly valued not only for its social and historical significance but also for its rarity, as it records the linguistic life of Korean hearing-impaired people and helped prevent their exclusion from education and society.

Firefighting Helicopter Kkachi 2

The firefighting helicopter Kkachi No. 2, exhibited at the Boramae Safety Experience Center, served as a transportation means at various disaster sites from 1980 to 2005. After 'Kkachi No. 1,' introduced together in December 1979, crashed and was discarded in 1996, Kkachi No. 2 became the only remaining first firefighting helicopter. Kkachi No. 2 was dispatched over 3,000 times for fire suppression and emergency patient transport, rescuing 942 lives. It is especially well-known for its use in rescue operations and aerial command control during the Seongsu Bridge collapse accident (1994) and the Sampoong Department Store collapse accident (1995). The Cultural Heritage Administration stated, "It is an artifact that left an important mark in firefighting history and has sufficient historical and social value."

Goseong-gu Ganseong Ferry Terminal Banseok

The Goseong Old Ganseong Basalt served as a reference point for triangulation in the nationwide land survey project conducted in the 1910s. At that time, to ensure accurate triangulation, thirteen baseline points (six in South Korea) were established nationwide, and the distances between each baseline were measured. The Ganseong baseline became the standard for precisely measuring the terrain and distances in the Gangwon-do region. The Cultural Heritage Administration explained, "It is an artifact that allows us to examine the foundation of surveying in Korea" and "it holds important historical and academic value."

Underwood House, Yonsei University, Seoul

The Seoul Yonsei University Underwood House is a residence built in 1927 by Dr. Horace Horton Underwood (Korean name Won Hangyeong), the third principal of Yonhee College, the predecessor of Yonsei University, for residential purposes. The Cultural Heritage Administration evaluated, "The building retains historical traces of Yonsei University throughout, and it has preservation value as it reflects a unique architectural form and aspects of modern Western residential styles."

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