Promotion of Establishing the Institute to Raise Professional Human Resources of Underwater Archaeology in Gunsan

 - ‘The National Education and Training Center of Underwater Archaeology’•••The Cultural Heritage Administration signs on the MoU with Jeollabuk-do, Gunsan-si, Korea Rural Community Cooperation (June 13th)-

The Cultural Heritage Administration (Choi Eung-Chon, Administrator) will sign on the MoU for constructing “the National Education and Training Center of Underwater Archaeology (tentative title; hereinafter referred to as Education and Training Center)” with Jeollabuk-do (Kim Kwan-Young, Governor), Gunsan-si(Kang Im-june, Mayor) and Korea Rural Community Cooperation (Lee Byung-ho, CEO) at Jeollabuk-do Provincial Office at 1:30 pm on June 13th.

This contract is arranged in order to build the mutual cooperation and business cooperation system for the Education and Training Center which is promoted to be built in Bieungdo-dong, Gunsan-si, Jeollabuk-do, aiming to raise professional human resources of underwater archaeology by the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage (Kim Seong-bae, Director General) of Cultural Heritage Administration.

The main issues of the contract are twofold: 1) cooperation to pass preliminary feasibility study and to purchase the land for constructing the Education and Training Center, and 2) building the consultation system for it, etc.

Despite of the fact that Gunsan-si includes the waters of Biando (island), Sibidongpado (island), and Yamido (island) where about 15,000 artifacts including one Goryeo shipwreck were recovered, having been the base of route for transporting taxes and trades with China, because of no places to display recovered finds in the city in a professional level, the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage of Mokpo should display and keep them.
When the Education and Training Center will be established in the following future, it is expected to become a complex cultural place including educating and training the professional human resources of underwater archaeology, developing conservation and exploration techniques of underwater cultural heritage, various displays and experiences, etc.

The Cultural Heritage Administration will keep doing its best so as to build the Education and Training Center which will be the first maritime-relevant national institute in Jeollabuk-do, in cooperation with Jeollabuk-do, Gunsan-si and Korea Rural Community Cooperation.