My sincere apology for this late response.

The Cultural Heritage Protection Act, the fundamental legal framework for the conservation of cultural heritage in Korea enacted in 1962, stipulates in Article 1, “The purpose of this Act is to promote the cultural enhancement of the people and to contribute to the development of human culture by transmitting national culture through the preservation of cultural heritage and enabling their utilization.”

Here is my interpretation of this article in relation to your question. We, the Koreans, have the responsibility to protect and preserve cultural heritage for ourselves and future generations as well. We can better identify ourselves by knowing and learning from how our ancestors lived, what they believed in, and how they understood the universe. Cultural heritage of any kind, tangible or intangible, bears witness to our forefathers’ lifestyle, beliefs, or worldview. This is why we are obliged to conserve what we have inherited from the past and pass it down to next generations.

There are many other reasons to justify the rational behind heritage protection: high-profile heritage sites can help boost the national image overseas; creative ideas borrowed from the past are turned into cultural products, enhancing and enriching our lives.