Cultural Heritage Administration Signs an MOU on Cultural Heritage Exchange and Cooperation with the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism

- MOUs signed between the Cultural Heritage Administration- Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage -Ankara University (April 16, Ankara)

On April 16th at 2:30 p.m. (local time), the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA, Administrator Choi Eung-chon) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism for exchanges and cooperation in the field of cultural heritage between the two countries in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye.

With the signing of the MOU, the CHA and the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism agreed to cooperate in the protection, preservation, restoration, and promotion of cultural heritage in both countries and to explore ways to share knowledge in the field of safety and disaster prevention, especially for cultural properties damaged by the earthquakes.

The agreement was also extended to the joint efforts between the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH) of Korea and Ankara University for the excavation of cultural heritage. The NRICH will officially carry out joint archaeological surveys of the Kültepe-Kanesh ruins with Ankara University for five years starting next year.

The investigation of the archaeological site of Kültepe is being carried out by Ankara University, with the participation of the University of Milan from Italy and Okayama University from Japan, and Harvard University of the United States is set to join the investigation this year. The excavations at Kültepe have primarily been carried out by universities thus far, and the NRICH will be the first national institution specializing in research and surveys to participate in the project.
* The archaeological site of Kültepe spans around 3.6 million ㎡ in area (about 4.3 times
the size of Pungnaptoseong Fortress; around 3% of the area has been excavated to date),
and it is the ruins of an ancient city dating from 1920 to 1190 BC.

Situated 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Kayseri, the archaeological site of Kültepe is the ruins of a city that thrived in the heart of global trade connecting the East and West around 3,900 years ago. It is an important site where the earliest written language, cuneiform, and the Old Assyrian Merchant Archives of Kültepe, registered in the UNESCO Memory of the World in recognition of their global importance, uniqueness, and irreplaceability, were found.

The signing of the MOU will enable the “brother nations,” Korea and Türkiye, to jointly excavate and research the world heritage sites and support each other’s national heritage policies in various ways. Going forward, Korea will undertake joint projects with advanced countries such as the EU to establish its status as a cultural powerhouse.

The CHA will continue to protect and enhance the value of the common heritage of humanity through research and surveys of world heritage sites and cooperate with Türkiye in all areas of cultural heritage, including archaeological surveys, the return of illegally exported cultural properties, utilization of digital technology, and cooperation on the inscription in the UNESCO World Heritage List.