Naju City Designates 5 New Local Cultural Heritages Including Native Pear Trees

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City, Jeollanam-do, will newly designate five items, including the 200-year-old ‘Naju Native Pear Tree,’ ancient documents, and architectural structures, as Naju City’s Local Cultural Heritage.

The city announced on the 31st that, after advisory committee review by the Local Cultural Heritage Protection Committee last month, it officially designated and announced the ‘Naju Native Pear Tree,’ ‘Geumganggye Reconstruction Records and Related Documents,’ ‘Honam Jeoluirok and Geumseong Samgangrok,’ ‘Naju Cathedral Site,’ and ‘Cheokseojeong’ as Naju Local Cultural Heritage.

‘Naju City Local Cultural Heritage’ refers to tangible and intangible heritage, monuments, and folk materials in the region that have not been designated as national or provincial cultural assets but hold significant historical, academic, artistic, or scenic value.

The ‘Naju Native Pear Tree’ includes a 150-year-old pear tree in Haksan-ri, Noan-myeon, and a 200-year-old pear tree in Dodong-ri, Dado-myeon, both designated and announced as local cultural heritage as native pear tree species.

As Naju is the largest pear production area nationwide, the historical brand value and significance as traditional cultural heritage of the native pear trees are considered substantial, emphasizing the need for preservation.

The ‘Geumganggye Reconstruction Records and Related Documents’ are ancient documents related to the ‘Geumganggye’ (錦江契), an organization formed by 11 local scholars from Naju at Geumsajeong (錦社亭) in Naju after the Gimyo Sahwa of 1519.

These are regarded as historically valuable materials that illustrate the activities of the Sarim faction in the early Joseon period in the Naju region.

The ‘Honam Jeoluirok’ (湖南節義錄) is a recorded heritage about righteous figures from the Honam region who were active in overcoming five national crises, including the Imjin War, the Jeongyu War, the Jeongmyo War, and the Byeongja War.

The ‘Geumseong Samgangrok’ (錦城三綱錄), an ancient document published in 1802, contains records of outstanding figures in the ‘Three Bonds’ (삼강, 三綱) such as loyal subjects, filial children, and virtuous women from the Naju area.

These two ancient documents are currently managed in the storage of the Naju Nabilella Culture Center through a donation by Mr. Lee Jaehyang, a resident of Dasim-myeon, and are highly valued as historical materials for researching local figures and culture of the time.

The ‘Naju Cathedral Site’ (Naju City, Bakjeonggil 3) is the third cathedral building in the Jeolla-do region, built in 1934, and includes four locations: the main church, the current Archbishop Memorial Hall, the Caritas Convent, and the bell tower, all designated and announced as local cultural heritage.

It is considered to have high architectural preservation value as it retains the architectural style of modern-era cathedrals.

‘Cheokseojeong’ (陟西亭, 29 Geuman 1-gil, Noan-myeon, Naju City) is a spirit shrine built in 1915 by descendant Jeong Haeil (1858?1925) to honor the loyalty of the late Goryeo military official Jeong Ji (1347?1391).

As a traditional wooden structure with a sturdy frame and well-preserved original form since its restoration in 1976, it is highly regarded for its architectural historical preservation value.

The city officially designated and announced these five local cultural heritage items on the 30th.

A city official stated, “The five local cultural heritage items designated this time are culturally and architecturally valuable cultural assets that will greatly contribute to establishing Naju’s historical identity. We will continue to actively work on designating and registering various cultural heritages to preserve them.”

Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong bong2910@asiae.co.kr

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