‘Old Daejeon Prison Well’ Announced as Daejeon City’s First Registered Cultural Heritage

'Old Daejeon Prison Well' panorama. Provided by Daejeon City

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The 'Old Daejeon Prison Well' will be registered as Daejeon's first Registered Cultural Heritage.

On the 6th, the city announced that the Old Daejeon Prison Well will be registered as a Registered Cultural Heritage as of the 7th.

The Registered Cultural Heritage system was introduced and enacted to protect modern and contemporary cultural assets, and with the 2020 amendment of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, registration of cultural heritage by city and provincial governments became possible. The authority to register cultural heritage expanded from the government (Administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration) to the heads of cities and provinces.

Through this, local governments now have the opportunity to independently discover, register, protect, and utilize cultural heritage that embodies the history and culture of their regions.

The Old Daejeon Prison Well was installed in May 1919 in Jungchon-dong, Daejeon, as a cooking well for the Daejeon Prison (renamed Daejeon Prison in 1923), which saw a surge in so-called political prisoners due to the March 1st Movement. It is known as a site where many civilian bodies were buried during the Korean War.

Besides its local historical significance, Daejeon Prison holds value and meaning as a place where prominent figures in Korean independence history, such as Dosan Ahn Chang-ho and Mongyang Yeo Un-hyung, were detained. After liberation, it was also a place where democracy movement figures like Lee Ungno, Yoon Isang, and Shin Young-bok were imprisoned.

The announcement period for the registration of the Old Daejeon Prison Well is 30 days, after which the city plans to hold a Cultural Heritage Committee meeting and proceed with the final registration notification process.

Moon In-hwan, Director of the City’s Culture and Sports Bureau, said, “The background for registering the Daejeon Prison Well as the city’s first Registered Cultural Heritage reflects our intention to widely promote the Old Daejeon Prison as an important historical resource of our city.”

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