UNESCO on Nov. 1 opened its first and only International Centre For Documentary Heritage (ICDH) in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. (ICDH's official X account) 

By Hong Angie
 

UNESCO on Nov. 1 opened its first International Centre For Documentary Heritage (ICDH) worldwide in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, with an opening ceremony.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety on Oct. 31 said the center was opened in the city under an agreement between the Korean government and the global cultural entity.

To support UNESCO's Memory of the World project and boost the preservation and use of documentary heritage, the ICDH is the agency's first facility for this purpose. 

A combined 496 items from nine international organizations and 130 countries are designated UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Korea ranks first in Asia and fifth worldwide with 18 on the list including the Hangeul textbook Hunminjeongeum (The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People), Joseonwangjo Silok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty) and Jikji Simche Yojeol, a Buddhist document considered the world's oldest surviving work printed with movable metal type.

Housed in a four-story building with one basement floor, the ICDH will launch a system to monitor Memory of the World and form a related integrated management network for items owned by organizations and global regions. Monitoring processes and tailored management methods are also planned.

To protect at-risk heritage and search for items yet undiscovered, center projects will also seek to boost the preservation capacity of such heritage in Africa and other regions and search for items on the Silk Road. Analytical research will also be done on physical features of Jikji Simche Yojeol and the Gutenberg Bible published in 1455.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min said, "The launch of the world's only UNESCO International Centre For Documentary Heritage is expected to more safely preserve Memory of the World items to allow people worldwide to use them freely." 

shong9412@korea.kr