“2023 Asian Cooperation Program on Conservation Science”

- A capacity-building program, 2023 ACPCS, for cultural heritage conservation experts on Asia is scheduled to be held -

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (hereinafter NRICH, Director General Yeonsoo Kim), a branch institute of the Cultural Heritage Administration, is operating the "Asian Cooperation Program on Conservation Science (hereinafter ACPCS)" from May 8th to July 21st for 11 weeks.

The ACPCS program, which is in its 16th year, has been held annually since 2005 to improve the conservation capacity of cultural and natural heritage officials in Asian countries, including heritage conservation science, archaeology, architectural heritage, and natural heritage in the Republic of Korea, through various research and training programs. The program was suspended for the last 3 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed this year.

In this year, two officials from cultural and natural heritage field from Cambodia and Mongolia are participating in the program. ▲Mr. Rotanak Yong from the Division of Conservation and Renovation Office under the Department of Safeguarding and Preservation of Monuments of Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in Cambodia will be researching methodologies for the restoration and conservation of architectural heritage at the Research Division of Architectural Cultural Heritage of NRICH for the purpose of developing plans for the conservation and restoration of Cambodian historical sites. ▲Mr. Baasankhu Soyol from the Institute of Paleontology under the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in Mongolia will be participating in the capacity-building program at the Research Division of Natural Heritage of NRICH to effectively process and study Dinosaur fossils from Mongolia that have not been previously researched in Korea.

The NRICH aims to promote cooperation in the conservation field of cultural and natural heritage among Asian countries through this program. The institution also aims to contribute in strengthening the participants' capacity by providing them with opportunities to collaborate and work with the institute's specialists in cultural and natural heritage research.

Through these efforts, it is expected that Korea will serve as the global hub country and become the driving force in the field of cultural heritage conservation, maintaining international cooperation relationships with other Asian countries.