What support is available for private groups engaged in activities for the preservation and protection of cultural properties?

• Protection of cultural properties is not the task that is undertaken only by the CHA and local governments. If a number of cultural heritages scattered all around the country are to be managed, it is of most importance that each citizen care for cultural properties. 
  
• In order to assist the general public in their activities for advocating cultural properties, the CHA has designated the Korea Association for Bird Protection as a State-designated group for management of cultural heritage and granted financial aids for feeding birds and animals, disaster relief, and protection and promotion activities. In addition, to protect bird and animals designated as natural monuments, it also has offered support in the form of feeding birds and animals designated as natural monuments at their habitat, collecting devices for poaching, and other protective activities in coordination with private advocates and groups while aiding 253 animal hospitals and groups engaged in protecting local natural monuments. Furthermore, the CHA has offered information on the tradition and excellence of Korea’s palace culture and supported the basic training for volunteers such as “palace keepers” or “palace cicerones” so that visitors from both home and abroad can enjoy Korea’s ancient palaces to the fullest. 
  
• Since 2004, the Lottery Fund has supported the National Trust, a citizen campaign where contributions are collected to purchase or acquire valuable cultural or natural heritages to preserve, maintain, manage and disclose them with the aim of allowing next generations to enjoy them forever. In addition, since 2005, independent activities for protection of cultural properties, such as safeguarding of provincial cultural properties undertaken by private groups, have been supported.