Gyeonggi Province promotes Cultural Heritage Care Project in 2014 and expands scope to province-designated cultural properties

◇ Gyeonggi Province will promote the thorough and efficient management of province-designated cultural properties by expanding the scope of the Cultural Heritage Care Project. The photo is of Sareung, the tomb of Queen Jeongsun, wife of King Danjong. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News

Gyeonggi Province will promote the thorough and efficient management of province-designated cultural properties by expanding the scope of the Cultural Heritage Care Project.

The province announced on February 17 that it will expand the scope of the Cultural Heritage Care Project, which had only covered 134 sites last year including state-designated cultural properties and some non-designated ones, to 517 sites including province-designated properties (92 state-designated, 383 province-designated, and 42 non-designated) and add items for management.

Starting from last year, the Cultural Heritage Care Project has implemented a preventive management project in which cultural heritage caregivers actively prevent potential damage, as opposed to the previous management method which focused on repair or maintenance.

With support from the Cultural Heritage Administration, the province and the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation recruited 28 cultural heritage caregivers, and assigned them to 517 sites as full-time managers after providing training. The caregivers examine each cultural property once a week for risk-factor prevention, surrounding area clean-up, and minor repairs.

The content of management has also expanded. The province and the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation plan to provide a more pleasant environment in which residents can view cultural assets by managing the properties seasonally, enhancing preservation and repair activities, planting native plants around access roads, producing support for trees and natural monuments, and repairing signs, notices and posts for the cultural properties. 

On the basis of an investigation into damages caused by termites and various pests to wooden cultural assets last year, they will strive to control such damage by installing termite traps and applying insect repellent this year.

Moreover, they will increase promotional activities by creating a website for the Cultural Heritage Care Project and recruit Honorary Cultural Heritage Caregivers so that citizens can become more involved in the protection and management of cultural properties.

“We will remedy our shortcomings from 2013 and faithfully carry out new projects such as planting native plants and producing supports for plants so as to promote the Cultural Heritage Care Project more effectively,” said Seo Mun-jeong, Leader of Permanent Team 4 of Gyeonggi’s Cultural Heritage Care Project.

◇ Hwaseong reflects the dreams of King Jeongjo. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News

ⓒGyeonggi G-News | Park Gwan-sik malbut@kg21.net 

 http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201402171030577055C049&s_code=C049