• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.4-19
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• 2019

Despite continuous volatility in ideological leanings, South Korean governments, conservative or progressive, have published a series of plans for aiding the economic development of North Korea. The Moon administration's plan is the paragon of such efforts. In addition, recent detente between the North Korean regime and the US government evokes much hope in its success. There is, hidden behind the veil of hope, apprehension about the crisis of management of cultural heritage in the North Korean region. It is believed that development policies may overwhelm efforts at conservation of cultural heritage, in particular that the hurrying of development projects would provoke insufficient and inappropriate investigation of archaeological sites., If these problems arise, responsibility for their resolution would be carried by South Korean archaeologists and governmental institutes. This paper reviews what the South Korean government has suggested for North Korea's economic recovery and examines what capability the South Korean archaeology sector has for investigating North Korean cultural heritage. It then discusses the scale of investigation needed, and what should beused as precedent in planning substantial excavations when development projects are performed in the North Korean region. Constructing a digital map system for cultural heritage of North Korea is suggested as one of the most urgent tasks precedent to substantial excavations. It is of great importance because we do not currently have any substantial information about the locations and current condition of cultural heritage sites and artifacts in the North Korean region. The mapping of Bronze Age sites in North Korea, conducted as a sort of pilot test, revealed that archaeological sites are densely distributed in several regions, especially Hwanghae-do and Pyoyang Directly-Administrated City, and that there is high potential of discovering new sites.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.35 no.2 s.121
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• pp.71-80
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• 2007

Korea began preserving and managing natural monuments in 1933 under Japanese Colonization, but North Korea and South Korea were forced to establish separate natural monument management policies because of the division after the Korean Independence. The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the natural monument management policies of both south and North Korea between 1933 and 2005 to introduce new policies for Korea unification. The following are the results: First, South Korea manages every type of cultural asset, including natural monuments, through the 'Cultural Heritage Protection Act,' whereas North Korea managing its cultural assets through the 'Cultural Relics Protection Act' and the 'Landmark/Natural Monument Protection Act.' Second, South Korea preserves and utilizes natural monuments for the purpose of promoting the cultural experience of Korean people and contributing to the development of world culture, whereas North Korea uses its natural monuments to promote the superiority of socialism and protect its ruling power. Third, North and South Korea have similar classification systems for animals, plants, and geology, but North Korea classifies geography as one of its natural monuments. Unlike South Korea, North Korea also designates imported animals and plants not only for the preservation and research of genetic resources, but also for their value as economic resources. Fourth, North Korea authorizes the Cabinet to designate and cancel natural monuments, whereas South Korea designates and cancels natural monuments by the Cultural Heritage Administration through the deliberation of a Cultural Heritage Committee. Both Koreas' central administrations establish policies and their local governments carry them out, while their management systems are quite different. In conclusion, it is important to establish specified laws for the conservation of natural heritages and clarified standards of designation in order to improve the preservation and management system and to sustain the diversity of natural preservation. Moreover it is also necessary to discover resources in various fields, designate protection zones, and preserve imported trees. By doing so, we shall improve South Korea's natural monument management policies and ultimately enhance national homogeneity in preparation for the reunification of the Koreas in the future.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.343-362
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• 2007

Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation needs to a different strategy for developing synergy effects, suggesting they should be selected for role to the unification Korea. In the this paper, Three policy-strategies is suggested as follows. Firstly, Economic Cooperation Driving Committee of Inter-Korean Digital Cultural Content is necessary the recovering of cultual consubstantiality and the operating of business partnership in the divided peninsular. Secondly, To cultural contents cooperation between South-North Korea. the exchange of learning and information must be activated constantly. as the cultural contents is creative industrial, it needs for imagination and creative of human and understanding of a fine arts, a traditional arts. Thirdly, A policy and system is inevitable to construction of Inter Korean Cooperation Digital Contents. South-North Korea, including a North Korea having a excellent cultural heritage, must jointly recovery for cultural contents. Under social-economic system, a consumers of digital contents pay to the format creator many royalty. Therefore, We must prepare to roll out a series of new creative contents, and have competitive advantages in the global market.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.36
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• pp.39-67
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• 2003

In this paper we examine cultural properties of the North Korea from 'the law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Protection of Cultural Property". This law was adopted the Resolution of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of DPR of Korea in 1994. For our study, some other laws or rules established after the end of Japanese colonial occupation (1910-1945) in North Korea were examined. The policy on protection and conservation of cultural property in North Korea seems to have taken place a relatively rapid. The purpose of this law is to carry out the policy with a view to contributing to establishment of strict system and order for protection and management of cultural property, to their preservation in original state, to their proper inheritance and development, and to enhancement of national pride and confidence among the people. This law consists of 6 chapters (52 articles): (1) Fundamentals of the law on protection of cultural property, (2) Archaeological excavation and collection of cultural relics, (3) Evaluation and registration of cultural property, (4) Preservation and management of cultural property, (5) Restoration of cultural property, and (6) Guidance and control of cultural property protection. Nevertheless, it is difficult to find the evidence of efforts to exploit the cultural properties from an academic point of view in North Korea since the late 1980s.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.4-17
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• 2019

Both as a means of improving North-South relations, as well as a necessary component for carrying out research on the past of the Korean peninsula, interest in North Korean cultural resources has been growing in South Korean society. As a result, studies have begun to look beyond North Korean cultural resources themselves and attempt to determine how cultural resources are managed in North Korea. Such studies have tended to investigate laws related to the management of cultural heritage in North Korea, but information gleaned from laws alone is limited. To provide a more complete picture, research must also investigate how cultural resource management laws are applied and enforced and also take into consideration aspects of cultural resource management that are not directed or regulated by law. In this study, we refer to the current National Cultural Resources Protection Laws in order to investigate systems of cultural resource management in North Korea. Furthermore, we conducted interviews with a former North Korean national who had until recently worked as a director of historical sites in North Korea. Through comparisons of information relating to organization, labor power, responsibilities, budget, and other factors of cultural resource management gained through the interviews and the 'National Cultural Resources Protection Laws,' we hoped to gain a fuller understanding of the reality of cultural resource management in North Korea. As a result, we were able to gain a better understanding of the organization and tasks related to cultural resource management and, at the same time, clarify some of the provisions that were unclear in the laws. Throughout the process, we were also able to determine that the management of cultural resources in North Korea is currently inadequate. However, because this study focuses on a specific region and is limited only to historical sites, it is difficult to generalize our findings to the entirety of cultural resource management in North Korea. In order to gain an objective and more accurate understanding of the current state of cultural resource management in North Korea, information must be collected at many levels to be synthesized and compared.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.92-99
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• 2007

Korea began preserving and managing natural monuments in 1933 under the Japanese Colonization, but South and North Korea had to establish natural monument management policies separately because of the division after the Korean Independence. The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the natural monument designations of South and North Koreas between 1933 and 2005 to introduce advanced polices for Oneness-Korea. The following are the results: According to data of December 2005, South Korea has 358 and North Korea has 474 natural monuments. North Korea has 116 more natural monuments than South Korea. In addition, over half of South Korea's designations are plants, whereas North Korea's designations are relatively well-balanced. Both South and North Korea designate plants(mostly trees) that are old and large. However, South Korea emphasizes the historical value of village forests, contrary to economic value in North Korea. Also, North Korea preserves many traditional fruit trees which have not been well-preserved in South Korea. As for animals, South Korea designates migratory wild animals by type and not by region to protect them at a national level, whereas North Korea designates the specific habitats of each type of wild animal. In addition, North Korea protects each region's cattle and chickens to preserve native traits of domesticated animals. Geologically, North Korea preserves 18 hot springs and 11 springs, whereas South Korea has none. Geographically, North Korea preserves 81 waterfalls, lakes, etc. In the conclusion, advanced natural monument management of South and North Korea is necessary to achieve effective preservation of natural monuments.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.94-115
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• 2017

'Arirang folk song in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea' was inscribed to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014 and 'Tradition of kimchi-making in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea' followed in 2015. It is presumed that North Korea was influenced by the Republic of Korea inscribing 'Arirang, lyrical folk song in the Republic of Korea' to the list in 2012 as well as 'Kimjang, making and sharing kimchi in the Republic of Korea' in 2013. These cases show the necessity (or possibility) of cultural exchanges between the two Koreas through UNESCO ICH lists. The purpose of this article is to explore the possibility of inter-Korean cultural integration. Therefore, I would like to review UNESCO's ICH policy and examine the ways of cooperation and joint nominations to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity between the two Koreas. First, I reviewed the amendments to the laws and regulations of the two Koreas and how the two countries applied the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Although the cultural exchange is a non-political field, given the situation between South and North Korea, it is influenced by politics. Therefore, we devised a stepwise development plan, divided into four phases: infrastructure development, cooperation and promotion, diversification, and policymaking and alternative development. First a target group will be needed. In this regard, joint nominations to the Representative List of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity will be suitable for cooperation. Both countries have already started separate nominations on shared ICH elements to the UNESCO lists. Therefore, I have selected a few elements as examples that can be considered for joint nominations. The selected items are makgeolli (traditional liquor), jang (traditional soybean sauce), gayangju (homebrewed liquor), gudeul (Korean floor heating system), and jasu (traditional embroidery). Cooperation should start with sharing information on ICH elements. A pilot project for joint nomination can be implemented and then a mid-term plan can be established for future implementation. When shared ICH elements are inscribed on UNESCO ICH lists, various activities can be considered as follow-ups, such as institution visits, performances, exhibitions, and joint monitoring of the intangible cultural heritage. Mutual cooperation of the two Koreas' intangible cultural heritage will be a unique example between the divided countries, so its value will be recognized as a symbol of cultural cooperation. In addition, it will be a foundation for cultural integration of the two Koreas, and it will show the value of their unique ICH to the world. At the same time, it will become a good example for joint nominations to the Representative List recommended by UNESCO.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.20-37
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• 2019

Three Inter-Korea summits and a North Korea-USA summit that were previously unexpected provide a basis for an optimistic outlook for the future development of Korean archaeology. While Korean archaeology has witnessed a great advance since the mid-20th century, it also exhibits significant weaknesses in explaining cultural changes in prehistory and the early historical period in the Korean Peninsula due to the paucity of information on archaeological evidence of North Korea. Recent development of favorable conditions for research and excavations of North Korean cultural heritage could be a valuable opportunity for Korean archaeology to overcome the current adversity. Especially, given the expected large-scale SOC industrial project in North Korea, we need to prepare for the systematic research and excavation of archaeological materials. The present essay attempts to provide a suggestion for the joint archaeological expeditions to excavate and manage cultural resources in North Korea based on a critical review of previous salvage excavations in South Korea, such as those conducted before the construction of the Korean rapid transit railway system (KTX). We suggest that professional archaeologists should be included in the project and oversee the planning and design of road and railway constructions and other SOC projects in order to minimize the cost of trial and error processes that were well exemplified by the KTX salvage excavations. The Korean Archaeological Society and North Korean Archaeological Society may organize a common association that will supervise joint archaeological expeditions. Importantly, The Korean Archaeological Society and other related institutions should prepare to build an organization that conducts impending archaeological excavation in North Korea. While we likely face challenges and difficulties during the various stages of archaeological research and excavations in North Korea, only through thorough and systematic preparation can we avoid the destruction of valuable cultural heritage and find an opportunity for the further development of Korean archaeology.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.254-264
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• 2022

Built in the 6th and 7th centuries during the Baekje period, the Buyeo Royal Tombs consist of seven tombs, including Tomb No. 1, which contains murals. To preserve Tomb No. 1 from damage caused by microorganisms, periodic microbial-distribution investigations are conducted. Following such investigations in August 2016, June 2018, and November 2019, the microbes were classified according to the investigation period, location of collection, and space. This study compares and analyzes the results. The concentration of airborne microorganisms in Tomb No. 1 and the number of microbial genera identified in each space of the tomb decreased as proximity to the main room with murals diminished. During the investigation period, the genera Bacillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Streptomyces were commonly identified on Tomb No. 1. The microorganisms collected from the main room walls were mostly isolated from the east and west walls where the genera Bacillus, Cupriavidus, Paenibacillus, Pseudomonas, and Streptomyces were commonly identified in three or more walls. In particular, the genus Streptomyces is a dangerous strain capable of damaging murals by penetrating into and discoloring the pigments on them. The data generated from this study may be useful for future research on microbial distribution in other domestic mural tombs and those located in North Korea and abroad.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.184-201
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• 2020

After the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonialism, archeology in South and North Korea took different paths. In particular, archeology in South and North Korea began to show great differences from the 1970s, when the former experienced rapid academic advancement following the evacuation of large-scale relics and the latter began to demonstrate a drastically political nature. North Korea declared 'Daedonggang Culture' in the 1990s, and South and North Korean archeology subsequently became so divorced that the two shared almost no common ideas. This kind of discrepancy is now particularly prominent with regard to the Bronze Age and Iron Age around "Gojoseon". Researchers of prehistoric archeology in South Korea have no choice but to keep referring to North Korean archeology. This is because North Korean resources are the main research subjects for identifying "the origin and descent of culture", which is still one of the most important research topics. However, people cast doubt on their reliability. Such a "two-fold viewpoint" demonstrates how those associated with South Korean archeology perceive their counterparts in North Korea. A large part of the visible "gap" between South and North Korea in terms of Bronze Age archeology comes from "political difference" that cannot be resolved by an increase in survey cases or academic debate. However, examining the trend in prehistoric archeology in North Korea is not aimed at criticizing the political nature of North Korean archeology. The goal is to investigate how the North Korean perspective on the Bronze Age differs from that in South Korea at present and to examine the potential problems in explaining "prehistoric culture in the Korean peninsula" and, furthermore, prehistoric culture in Northeast Asia, by including North Korean resources. This paper examines how Bronze Age-related research trends have evolved in North Korea to date and compares them with those seen in South Korean archeology during the same period.