Gwangsan District Council of Gwangju Holds Policy Forum for Utilizing 'Sinchang-dong Mahan Historic Site'

The Economic and Welfare Committee of the Gwangsan District Council in Gwangju Metropolitan City held a policy forum on the 18th at the Sinchang-dong Mahan Relics Experience Center to explore ways to utilize the 'Gwangju Sinchang-dong Relics.'

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The 'Gwangju Sinchang-dong Relics,' covering a total area of 260,715㎡, is a large-scale agricultural complex relic from the early Iron Age Mahan period, designated as National Historic Site No. 275 in 1992.

Excavations of the relics have progressed about 30% since the first excavation in 1963 but have been halted since 2020. There has been a continuous call to highlight the relics' value as a national historic site and to activate them as cultural resources.

The policy forum was chaired by Yoon Young-il, a Gwangsan District Council member (Democratic Party, Bia-dong, Singa-dong, Sinchang-dong), and residents, related organizations and groups, and officials participated in a heated discussion to find ways to utilize the relics.

First, Park Jung-hwan, former director of the National Naju Museum, presented his views on the topic of 'Spreading the Various Values Held by the Sinchang-dong Relics.'

Following him, Lee Jeong-ho, a Cultural Heritage Committee member of the Cultural Heritage Administration, discussed the relationship between the Sinchang-dong relics and the local community; Kwak Jeong-su, chairman of the Sinchang-dong Residents' Autonomy Committee, spoke about the excavation and changes of the Sinchang-dong relics; Park Young-jae, a curator from Gwangju Metropolitan City, shared cases from other cities and provinces; and Baek Ok-yeon, head of the Gwangsan District Cultural Heritage Utilization Team, led a discussion focusing on the expandability of the Sinchang-dong relics.

They agreed that following the amendment of the 'Special Act on the Maintenance of Historical and Cultural Areas' in December 2022, the Sinchang-dong relics should be defined as part of the Mahan Historical and Cultural Area, establishing a basis for projects related to research, investigation, excavation, and restoration.

They also emphasized the need to develop various experiential programs and promote tourism resources to increase visitors and establish the identity of the relics as a representative local heritage site.

To this end, the creation of a dedicated department for systematic and responsible management and preservation was also proposed.

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