Director Song Joon-tae of Yeongju City Sosu Museum Receives Presidential Citation for Cultural Heritage Protection

Designation of 51 Cultural Properties and Leading UNESCO Registration of Korean Seowon, etc.

Director Song Joon-tae of Sosu Museum in Yeongju, Gyeongbuk, received the Presidential Award at the 2021 Cultural Heritage Protection Merit Awards ceremony on the 8th.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Song Juntae, director of Sosu Museum in Yeongju-si, Gyeongbuk, received the Presidential Award at the Cultural Heritage Administration’s ‘2021 Cultural Heritage Protection Merit Awards Ceremony’ held on the 8th.

At the awards ceremony, a total of 13 individuals were honored for their contributions to the preservation, research, and utilization of cultural heritage, including 6 recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit, 6 recipients of the Presidential Citation, and 1 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Citation.

Director Song has dedicated 27 years of public service, successfully having 51 items designated as cultural heritage?10 nationally designated cultural properties and 41 local cultural properties?setting the record for the highest number among public officials in basic local governments nationwide.

He also laid the foundation for the inscription of ‘Korean Seowon’ in 2019 and ‘Sansa, Korean Mountain Monasteries’ in 2018 on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Since 2000, he has taken the lead in preserving important cultural properties by completing conservation treatments and storing in repositories for the National Treasure ‘Portrait of Anhyang’, and the Treasures ‘Daeseongjiseongmunseonwangjeonjwaedo’ and ‘Portrait of Jusebung’.

To protect burial mounds of buried cultural heritage damaged by various construction projects, in 2008 he conducted the first precise surface survey on the distribution status of burial mound groups among basic local governments and published a booklet on the findings.

In 2007, he established the ‘Management Plan for Non-designated Cultural Properties’, which covers 70% of costs through city and county subsidies and 30% through self-funding for the preservation and management of local cultural heritage in poor management conditions. An annual budget of 200 to 400 million KRW was allocated, and by 2020, repair projects were carried out on 57 non-designated architectural cultural properties including old houses, pavilions, Jesa houses (Jae-sa), and filial piety pavilions (Hyojagak).

He also formulated and promoted plans to create a traditional culture experience complex for the excavation, preservation, and tourism utilization of cultural heritage in the Yeongju Dam submerged area, and manages over 15,600 donated and entrusted artifacts in the museum’s storage.

Prior to receiving this Presidential Award, Director Song was recognized for his contributions to the development of museums and art galleries with the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award at the end of last year.

Director Song said, “Upon hearing the news of being selected as an awardee, the days I worked hard to protect and preserve cultural heritage flashed before my eyes. I am happy to receive this award as I approach the end of my public service career, and I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me.”

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