​The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH; JI Byongmok, Director General) of the Cultural Heritage Administration has published three books - Understanding the Goryeo Metalwork 2, Encyclopedia of the Silk Road Western Region: Central Asia (Western Turkestan), and The Art of Silk Road: New Research Trends and Perspective.

Understanding the Goryeo Metalwork 2 is the sequel to Understanding the Goryeo Metalwork published in 2020. This edition features a collection of 130 household crafts from the Goryeo Dynasty. There have been few remaining relics or documentary records that are seldom available for viewing. The book features small knives, needle case, makeup brushes, and other miscellaneous personnel objects used by the Goryeo people, as well as accessories such as bracelets and hairpins. For an easy and accurate understanding of these artifacts, detailed names, terms, and uses are provided along with drawings and pictures.

*needle case: A cylindrical case to keep needles

Encyclopedia of the Silk Road Western Region: Central Asia (Western Turkestan) is a follow-up study to Encyclopedia of the Silk Road Eastern Region: Xinjiang of China published in 2019. While the earlier publication deals with the eastern part of the Pamir Plateau, this volume covers its western part - Central Asia and a part of West Asia. The book contains 33 thematic studies on various subjects encompassing history, religion, Buddhist art, and crafts of this region where research has been challenged by limited access to the relics and materials. For over three years since 2018, NRICH and experts in related fields have compiled domestic and foreign research results and arranged photos, maps, lists of plates, and references to enable easy understanding.

* Pamir Plateau: A plateau in Central Asia spanning Tajikistan, China, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The Art of Silk Road: New Research Trends and Perspective contains six different articles on

Silk Road art in Central Asia, written by the world renowned scholars from the U.S., Germany, Italy, and Japan. This book, published in both Korean and English, intends to publicize the latest international research results on Silk Road art at home and abroad.

These volumes will be distributed to domestic and overseas public libraries and related research institutes. E-books will also be available on the official website of the Cultural Heritage Administration (www.cha.go.kr) and the NRICH Cultural Heritage Research Knowledge website (www.nrich.co.kr) for public viewing.

NRICH will continue to strive in earnest to conduct research on artistic heritage and disseminate them at home and abroad for stimulating worldwide public interest in Korean cultural heritage.

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Division: National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage

           Research Division of Artistic Heritage

Contact person: CHOI Inhwa (Tel. 82-42-860-9192), PARK Jiyoung (Tel. 82-42-860-9194)