Tracing the Roots of Ancient Korean Ironware: Academic Conference on Iron Materials Held in Chungju

Joint Conference by the National Jungwon Institute of Cultural Heritage and the Korean Society of Iron Age Studies
Experts Highlight Production, Distribution Networks, and Scientific Achievements

The National Jungwon Institute of Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with the Korean Society of Iron Age Studies, will hold an academic conference on the theme of "What Constitutes Iron Material?" at 10:00 a.m. on March 27 at the Gugwon Hall within the institute in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do. The conference aims to reexamine the concept of iron materials used in ancient iron production and to share findings on the production and distribution processes, as well as scientific analysis results, of iron materials identified at ancient sites on the Korean Peninsula.

The event will begin with opening remarks and congratulatory speeches by Namgyu Lee, President of the Korean Society of Iron Age Studies, and Jongdeok Lim, Director General of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage. This will be followed by six keynote presentations. The morning session will focus on the concept of iron materials and their regional distribution patterns. Researchers from the Silla Cultural Heritage Research Institute, the Central Institute of Archaeology, and the National Daegu Museum will each highlight the concept of iron materials and the characteristics of iron materials found in the Mahan, Baekje, and Silla regions.

The afternoon session will center on experimental archaeology, scientific analysis, and the history of research in neighboring countries. Researchers from the National Jungwon Institute of Cultural Heritage, the Tool Museum at Ajou University, and Yeungnam University will sequentially present results of iron-making experiments, metallurgical characteristics, and the history of research on ancient iron production in Japan.

Following the keynote presentations, a general discussion will be moderated by Professor Gilshik Kim of Yongin University. Six experts, including Professor Daeyeon Cho of Chonbuk National University and Professor Takashi Suzuki of Komazawa University in Japan, along with all the presenters, will engage in an in-depth discussion on the key issues and future tasks in the study of iron materials. Anyone can attend by registering on-site on the day of the event.

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