Korea Forest Service Takes First Step to Register 'Forest Reforestation Records' as UNESCO Memory of the World Heritage

The Korea Forest Service has taken the first step toward registering the domestic "Forest Reforestation Records" as a UNESCO Memory of the World heritage.

Comparison photos before and after the forest restoration project. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

On the 3rd, the Korea Forest Service announced that the "Forest Reforestation Records," which document Korea's successful history of forest reforestation, recently passed the conditional review by the Korean Committee for the UNESCO Memory of the World.

Following the conditional approval, the "Forest Reforestation Records" will undergo another review by the Korean Committee for the UNESCO Memory of the World.

After the re-examination is completed, the process will proceed with a preliminary review by the UNESCO International Advisory Committee (IAC) for the Memory of the World in the second half of next year, followed by a final review in the first half of 2025, potentially leading to its registration as a UNESCO Memory of the World heritage.

The conditional approval by the Korean Committee marks the first step toward the "Forest Reforestation Records" being registered as a UNESCO Memory of the World heritage.

The UNESCO Memory of the World program has been operating since 1992 to systematically preserve and utilize globally valuable documentary heritage.

Currently, 16 items, including Hunminjeongeum, the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, and records of the Saemaul Undong movement, are registered as Memory of the World heritage in Korea. This ranks Korea fourth worldwide and the highest in Asia for the number of registered Memory of the World heritage items.

The newly proposed "Forest Reforestation Records" document the process in which the public and private sectors united to successfully reforest forests devastated during the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War. The collection includes approximately 10,000 items such as official documents, various reforestation project ledgers, work diaries, reports, photographs, posters, and videos from that time.

These materials were collected from the Korea Forest Service, the National Archives, local governments nationwide, forestry organizations, and participants in restoration projects, and will be exhibited and preserved at the "50th Anniversary of National Land Reforestation Memorial Hall," to be established at the National Sejong Arboretum.

Nam Sung-hyun, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, said, "We hope that the Forest Reforestation Records will be registered as a UNESCO Memory of the World heritage and remain as records permanently remembered not only in Korea but also in human history. We also hope that Korea’s successful reforestation records will serve as a model for other countries in need of restoration and afforestation in the future."

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