• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.126-145
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• 2017

The Seokgaejae section is located along a timber access road and a driveway across Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang Province, and Samcheog city, Gangwon Province. Its stratigraphic column shows all of the ten strata of the lower Paleozoic Taebaek Group, Joseon Supergroup. The Seokgaejae section is proved to be scientifically important. Thirty-eight domestic/international journal papers have been published on this early Paleozoic stratigraphic site, and many distinguished researchers over the world have visited the site. However, the section has never been considered to be designated as a national natural monument and was not included in the adjacent Gangwon Paleozoic National Geopark due to management or administrative issues. Although the Seokgaejae section sufficiently satisfies many of the national natural monument criteria, designation for the natural monument may not be justified because of the facts that the outcrop was artificially exposed by road construction; the chance of destruction of the outcrop is relatively few; demage on the outcrop to some extent does not impair the intrinsic value of the section; and the geomorphological/landscape value of the section is low. The application of the recently modified geological heritage assessment model to the Seokgaejae section shows very high scores on the scientific/educational, intrinsic, and functional values. Based on the improved geological heritage grade standard, the Seokgaejae section conforms to the national-level protection criteria. It is strongly recommended to manage the Seokgaejae section as a principal geosite by including it in the Gangwon Paleozoic National Geopark. This case study on the Seokgaejae section also suggests that the process of application and endorsement of a national geopark need further improvement. As well as the improvement of the system or policy related to geological heritages, further efforts of the experts in various fields of geoscience are required in order for other geological heritages not to be neglected from now on.