The Cultural Heritage Administration (Administrator, Kim Hyun-mo) held the conservation treatment laboratory's opening ceremony in the State Museum of Cultural History of Uzbekistan on the 9th at 11 am (local time). Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Vice Governor of Samarkand, the Korean Ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the President of the Korean Community Association attended the event.

The ceremony was held in the following order: a welcoming speech by the Vice Minister of Culture of Uzbekistan (Kamola Akilova) and a congratulatory speech by the Korean Ambassador (Kang Jae Kwon), a congratulatory video by the Chairman of the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation(Jin Ok-sub), a progress report on the progress of the Official Development Assistance Project (ODA) in State Museum of Cultural History of Uzbekistan, and a tape cutting ceremony, introduction of the laboratory and equipment demonstration.

Meanwhile, the Korean ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan, who attended the event on behalf of the Administrator of CHA due to COVID-19, stated that "the Samarkand is a region with an important cultural heritage (Afrosiab palace murals) showing bilateral exchanges, and Korea's participation in the museum capacity building support project is greatly meaningful." The two countries' summit meetings (April 19, 2019; January 28, 2021) have discussed the necessity of continuing cooperation to preserve cultural heritage.

Samarkand is a crucial area for the New Northern Cultural Heritage ODA project. Since 2020, works such as preserving the palace murals and improving the environment of the exhibition room of the Afrosiab Museum, remodeling the preservation treatment lab, and supplying equipment for the State Museum of Cultural History of Uzbekistan were conducted.

The Cultural Heritage Administration has finished the analysis of pigments and the temperature and humidity changes of the mural of the Afrosiab Museum. Based on these results, the preservation environment improvement plan* of palace murals will be finalized this year.

* Includes establishment of air conditioning system for maintaining temperature and humidity, construction of windbreak doors for the main entrance, and visitor management plan

The conservation treatment laboratory, which was newly opened at the State Museum of Cultural History of Uzbekistan, will be dedicated to the conservation of 230,000 artifacts owned by eight national and public museums in Samarkand. Based on supplying conservation equipments* and the conservation treatment manual**, CHA plans to promote local training of experts and joint academic symposiums which will contribute to strengthening exchanges and cooperation among countries through cultural heritage in 2021.

* Conservation equipments: 12 different types including vacuum impregnator, dryer, etc.

** Conservation Treatment Manual: Recorded by ceramic, iron, bronze, stone, cleaning, reinforcement, etc.

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Division: International Cooperation Division

Contact person: Jung Kyu Yun (042­-481-4731), Hong In Soo (042-481-4736)