Experts from 31 countries answer Korea's call to learn heritage conservation

South Korea is launching an international training program to share its cultural heritage conservation technology with the world. Officials say the initiative is significant because it extends the country's technology-sharing reach beyond its traditional focus on Asia, strengthening Korea's leading role in global heritage preservation.

The Cultural Heritage Administration's National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage has invited five heritage specialists from Rwanda, Uzbekistan, Bhutan, Ecuador and the Maldives for the International Cultural Heritage Conservation Technology Program, known as ICPC, running Monday through Oct. 1 — a 60-day course.

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage has run the Asian Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management Specialist Training Program, known as ACPCS, since 2005. Over two decades, it has trained 120 specialists from 19 Asian countries, expanding its curriculum from conservation science into architecture, archaeology and disaster prevention while sharing research and conservation techniques with the international community.

The program shares Korea's technology and experience to help participating countries better preserve and manage their own cultural heritage. Previously limited to Asian nations, it opened to the entire world this year.

This year's online recruitment drew applicants from 31 countries. The institute evaluated candidates on the suitability of their research plans, the potential application of their findings, their capacity for international cooperation and their performance in interviews, ultimately selecting five participants.

Each selected specialist will pursue research centered on challenges their home country faces: archaeological site conservation (Rwanda), analysis of materials in Buddhist art (Uzbekistan), wooden printing block preservation (Bhutan), comparative study of traditional architecture (Ecuador) and climate change response (Maldives).

The program pairs each participant with a dedicated mentor in a one-on-one format designed to ensure genuine technology transfer and research support. Participants will also make field visits to heritage sites, including royal palaces in Seoul and sites in Gyeongju, Iksan and Buyeo.

Starting this year, the institute plans to gradually expand the number of participants and the length of the ICPC program. It also intends to upgrade existing international training initiatives run jointly with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, a UNESCO body known as ICCROM — including the Conservation of Collections in Asia program, CollAsia, and the On-the-Job Training Program, OTTP.

"We will continue to expand cooperation with countries in Latin America, Africa and island nations that need to strengthen their heritage conservation capacity," the institute said, "and will build joint research initiatives and expert networks to reinforce our role as a central institution leading the preservation of world heritage centered on K-heritage."