• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.190-211
• /
• 2019

In March 2015, The Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan implemented a project called "Japan Heritage," which aims to promote the unique narratives of cultural properties of the region by branding the locality for revitalization in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. This bottom-up approach of cultural policy has been called a "Cool Japan Strategy of Cultural Heritage" in the 21st century, which effectively incorporates local cultural heritage and tourism. However, although a total of 67 Japan Heritage projects have been designated as of December 2018, almost none has been introduced in the academic forum in Korea. On the basis of this background and a lack of academic awareness in Korea on Japan's recent cultural policies, this research aims to focus on the three cases of Gunma Prefecture implemented in local, global, and glocal aspects. To specify, the cases are the "Gunma Silk Heritage" project, implemented in 2011, the "Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites" project that was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014, and "The Best Wife in the World - Silk Story of Gunma," case certified as the first project of "Japan Heritage" launched in 2015. Based on the questionnaire method conducted with the World Heritage Registration Promotion Division in Gunma Prefectural Government, as well as a literature view, the research revealed that the consecutive implementation of a series of cultural heritage projects in Gunma is not coincidental, but rather a strategy aiming to create a synergism where each project complements the others. Moreover, this paper demonstrates that Gunma Prefecture has been utilizing the local silk industry as a tangible and intangible cultural resource in multi-layered heritage projects, resulting in a "spiral synergy effect" and a "chain of the recognition process." In conclusion, it illustrates the recent trend of utilizing cultural heritage in the context of the Cool Japan strategy, which seeks to move away from the administration of maintaining the status quo cultural heritage protection to a proactive one with greater potential growth. This research may thus provide meaningful insight into the utilization of domestic historical and cultural resources as well as related policy-making, in that it will ultimately promote the chain effect of linking the multiple heritage policies and projects at the local, global, and glocal levels.