NRICH publishes “Survey Report on Earthquake Damages to Foreign Cultural Heritage and their Countermeasures”

- A report consisting of field survey results on earthquake damages in Nepal, Taiwan and Italy and countermeasures by country - 

The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA)'s National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH; Director-General Ji, Byong Mok) published the Earthquake Damages to Foreign Cultural Heritage and Their Countermeasures, which includes the survey result of foreign cases on earthquake-damaged cultural heritage.

When a 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit the Gyeongju area on September 12, 2016, this became a case that raised awareness on the severity of earthquakes as it caused at least 100 damage cases, such as falling materials and roof tiles from wooden cultural heritage.

In response, NRICH conducted various surveys and research to create countermeasures against earthquake damage on cultural heritage. In particular, the institute has been carrying out yearly surveys since 2017 on policies related to follow-up measures based on damage type, damage overview, and reconstruction, as well as on the establishment of regulations, focusing on countries whose cultural heritages were heavily affected by earthquakes. NRICH published the surveys’ results this year.

This report includes three-year (2017–2019) survey results on damages on cultural heritages and restoration cases in three countries, namely Nepal, Taiwan and Italy. More specifically, the report is compromised of each country's overview of 1) major earthquakes that caused large-scale damages on cultural heritage and the damage condition, 2) the process of setting up countermeasures and follow-up restoration, as well as key technologies used for restoration and reconstruction work, and 3) systems and policies for countermeasures against earthquake damage on cultural heritage. Additionally, the surveys were participated by earthquake experts on cultural heritage from each country where they documented the situation and status of responses to earthquakes. The report covers all necessary matters so each country can use it as guidelines for the safeguarding of cultural heritage against earthquakes.

▲ In 2015, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the Gorkha region in Nepal, resulting in 142 cases of large-scale damages out of 374 cultural heritages in Kathmandu Valley, a world heritage site. In response, the Nepali government established countermeasures against earthquakes by drafting guidelines and construction plans, such as the Basic Guidelines for the Conservation and Reconstruction of Earthquake-Damaged Heritage and Guidelines for Using Lime in Nepal’s Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Work

▲ A 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit the Jiji region in Taiwan on February 6, 2016, damaging 57 cultural heritages in the area. In response, they drafted Tangible Cultural Heritage Disaster Prevention and Protection Program, conducted intergovernmental management and maintenance of cultural heritages, and installed a disaster prevention monitoring system. The country also amended the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act to enable reinforcement work against earthquakes through research as necessary.

▲ In 2016, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Norcia region in Italy, destroying a majority of medieval cathedrals, which are world heritage sites, and killing 293 people. As countermeasures against such earthquakes, they established a risk map on cultural heritages and drafted the Guidelines for Evaluation and Mitigation of Seismic Risk to Cultural Heritage to prepare for other disasters aside from earthquakes. In addition, the country uses the enhanced traditional construction method that has been used since ancient Rome along with special materials for the reconstruction of certain structures.

The published report will be distributed to national and public libraries, as well as relevant research institutes, both in Korea and abroad. The publication will soon be available for viewing through the CHA website (www.cha.go.kr) and NRICH website (www.nrich.go.kr).

NRICH plans to continuously discover measures for disaster preparedness, disaster mitigation and disaster resilience that can be applied to Korea’s cultural heritages through foreign surveys on different disasters that pose risks on cultural heritage conservation other than earthquakes, such as storm and flood damage and climate change.

Division: The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage 

Safety and Disaster Prevention Division

Contact person: Jo Sangsun (042-860-9216), 

Kim Sehyun(042-860-9212)