The Korea Heritage Agency and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on July 1 held a ceremony to mark the donation of cutting-edge equipment to Cambodia for the preservation and restoration of historical remains in Angkor at the Apsara-KOICA Cultural Heritage Experiment Room of APSARA National Authority in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Shown are (from left) APSARA National Authority Director Som Sopharath and Deputy Director-General Kim Sothin, Song Youngjun, deputy director of KOICA's Cambodia bureau, and Na Jeonghee, head of the KHA's international cooperation center, taking a group photo that day.

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova
Photos = Korea Heritage Agency

Cutting-edge equipment has been donated to Cambodia for the preservation and restoration of the Angkor ruins.

The Korea Heritage Agency (KHA) on July 2 announced that along with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), it donated 11 pieces of equipment to preserve and restore the Angkor remains.

The donation ceremony was held at the APSARA (Authority for the Protection of the Site and Management of the Region of Angkor)-KOICA Cultural Heritage Experiment Room of APSARA National Authority, a Cambodian public agency, in Siem Reap.

The 11 pieces of equipment included 3D scanners and ground penetrating radar to study architecture, archaeology, civil engineering, and preservation science.

Since 2015, the KHA and KOICA have promoted the project to preserve and restore the Angkor remains. They have donated a combined 91 pieces of equipment in the first project (Terrace of Kor Sork at Preah Pithu Temples) and the second (Preah Pithu Temples and Terrace of the Elephants).

"We will maintain active support for Cambodia to develop its self-reliance capacity in the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage," the KHA said. "We will do our best to successfully complete the second project to preserve and restore the Angkor ruins of Preah Pithu Temple and Terrace of the Elephants."

These are among 11 pieces of equipment donated to APSARA.