Korean Heritage

80th Liberation Day Remembering foreign footprints on Korea’s road to liberation

Commemorating Korea’s liberation from Japan in 1945 would be incomplete without remembering the tens of thousands of independence fighters and activists who risked their lives for the country’s freedom. According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, a total of 18,258 people have been officially recognized as independence fighters, among whom 76 are non-Korean nationals. The real number is likely much higher. Although the efforts of those 76 foreigners is immeasurable, little is known about them, let alone details of their contributions. Marking the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation, The Korea Times compiled stories of 11 non-Korean independence fighters and activists — each linked to a place that commemorates their contribution. 1. Severance Hospital — Horace Allen, Frank Schofield Severance Hospital in Seoul is Korea’s first Western-style hospital, founded by American missionary Horace Allen (1858-1932) in 1885. Originally called Gwanghyewon, the hospital was later called Jejoongwon before it finally became Severance Hospital. At a time when Joseon-era medicin

New culture minister links museum to K-culture’s success

Chae Hwi-young, the new minister of culture, sports and tourism, emphasized that Korea’s traditional heritage is essential to driving the high-value K-culture industry envisioned by the Lee Jae Myung administration. “The museum is the foundation for the identity and sustainability of K-culture, as well as a key base for high-value cultural industries,” Chae said during his visit to the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, Sunday. “Assets such as museums and our traditional heritage will serve as engines of growth to help achieve the ambitious 300 trillion won ($216 billion) K-culture market.” Chae’s visit to the nation’s flagship museum — his second official engagement after traveling to Gyeongju on Thursday, his first day in office — highlights how central museums have become to the government’s vision for a thriving K-culture sector. During Sunday’s visit, Chae, accompanied by Yoo Hong-jun, director general of the museum and Choung Yong-suk, president of the National Museum Foundation of Korea, toured current exhibitions. Fueled by global interest in K-pop and Korean

Original draft of Korea's founding charter restored

A rare manuscript offering a window into the Korea envisioned by the Provisional Government after liberation from the Japanese colonial rule of 1910-45 was restored to its original form. The Conservation Science Center at the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced Tuesday that it had completed preservation work on the draft of Korea’s founding charter. Handwritten by politician Jo So-ang (1887-1958), the document outlines a vision for the independence movement and future nation-building, based on his philosophy of the Three Principles of Equality. The theory calls for an ideal society rooted in equality among individuals, ethnic groups and countries, with political, economic and educational parity as its core pillars. Adopted in 1941 by the Provisional Government, the manuscript would later serve as the philosophical cornerstone of Korea’s first Constitution in 1948. The 10-page draft bears Jo’s own handwritten text in ink, along with visible corrections — a testament to its historical value. But time had taken its toll. Over the decades, deep crease marks form

National Museum to open exhibition on monumental Olympic marathon triumph during Japan's colonial era

The National Museum of Korea announced Thursday it will launch a new exhibition this week on a Korean-born marathoner's record-breaking Olympic victory during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial period. Set to open Friday under the title "The Radiant Strides, Moving the World," the exhibition will celebrate the achievements of the late runner Sohn Kee-chung, who won the men's marathon gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics while wearing the Japanese flag. He set an Olympic record with 2:29:19. Though Sohn was the first Korean-born athlete to win an Olympic gold, he went into the record books as a Japanese medalist in Berlin. During the medal ceremony, Sohn famously held an oak sapling in front of him to hide the Japanese flag on his chest, while Korean newspapers altered the image to remove the Japanese flag from Sohn's running tunic. The exhibition features Sohn's handwritten postcard, on which he signed "Korean" in English, along with his name written in Korean. It is dated Aug. 15, 1936, six days after his gold medal race. According to the museum, Sohn signed his name in Korean at every opp

PHOTO Back from Japan, Joseon shrine components brought to light

Faces behind Korea's road to liberation in spotlight

Behind Korea’s decades-long struggle for independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule were countless names and faces — some etched into history, others faded with time. To mark the 80th anniversary of liberation that falls on Aug. 15, a new exhibition titled “Faces We Meet Anew” brings these lives back into the light. On view are 100 objects, drawn from the collections of the National Museum of Korea and the National Institute of Korean History. These include handwritten oaths by independence activists Yi Bong-chang and Yun Bong-gil, as well as a poignant calligraphy piece penned by Ahn Jung-geun during his final days in prison, after he was sentenced to death for the 1909 assassination of Ito Hirobumi, Japan’s first resident-general of Korea. But the true highlight of the show is the first-ever public display of surveillance dossiers compiled by the Japanese empire to identify and monitor individuals it deemed threats. First produced in the wake of the March 1 Independence Movement in 1919, these documents were used by Japanese authorities to track Korean activists — thei

Korea to host 2026 UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Busan

Korea is officially named host of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee's 48th session, planned for July next year. The selection was announced Tuesday (local time) during the committee's 47th session in Paris. This global gathering dedicated to the inscription and preservation of humanity’s shared heritage worldwide, will take place in 2026, in the southeastern coastal city of Busan. This is the first time Korea will host the session since the committee’s inception in 1977. Past Asian host cities include Thailand’s Phuket in 1994, Japan’s Kyoto in 1998, China’s Suzhou in 2004 and Cambodia’s Phnom Penh in 2013. Korea will lead the coordination of the committee’s work during the 2026 session, overseeing the schedule of meetings and managing procedural arrangements that shape the course of the gathering. Established under the 1972 World Heritage Convention, the World Heritage Committee is an intergovernmental body entrusted with determining whether a cultural, natural or mixed property merits inscription on the World Heritage List. It also reviews reports on the state of conser

UNESCO recognition for Ulsan petroglyphs rekindles preservation, water supply dilemma

Following UNESCO’s decision on Saturday to grant World Heritage status to the petroglyphs of Bangudae Terrace in the southeastern city of Ulsan, attention has turned to the long-standing dilemma facing the city: how to preserve the ancient rock art while ensuring a stable supply of clean drinking water for its residents. The petroglyphs, which stretch along a 3-kilometer section of the Bangucheon Stream, were recognized for their vivid depictions of prehistoric marine life, including whale hunting, on the Korean Peninsula, dating back nearly 7,000 years. Just 5 kilometers upstream from the UNESCO-designated site sits the Sayeon Dam, the source of Ulsan’s preservation controversy. Built in 1965 to supply water to the city’s newly established industrial complex, the reservoir later became a critical source of drinking water for Ulsan’s 1.1 million residents. Due to the dam’s design, water overflows naturally without human control. As a result, the petroglyphs begin to submerge when the dam’s water level reaches approximately 53 meters and are completely underwater at 58 meters

Dinosaur expert tapped to lead Korea Heritage Service

Huh Min, a professor of geology at Chonnam National University, has been tapped as the new chief of the Korea Heritage Service, the state agency tasked with safeguarding the country’s cultural and natural legacy. The announcement came Sunday, as President Lee Jae Myung named five vice ministers and seven vice ministerial-level officials in the latest round of high-level appointments. Huh is the first expert in geology and paleontology chosen to helm the agency — a position traditionally held by scholars of archaeology, art history or historical studies. His appointment may signal a shift toward greater recognition of Korea’s natural heritage as an integral part of its heritage preservation efforts. The 64-year-old specialist is credited with bringing international attention to Korea’s dinosaur research. His work has centered on vertebrate paleontology, with particular emphasis on dinosaur and pterosaur fossils. In 2003, his team made a landmark discovery in Boseong, South Jeolla Province, unearthing fossils belonging to a previously undiscovered dinosaur that once roamed Korea’s

N. Korea's Mount Kumgang named UNESCO World Heritage site

North Korea's Mount Kumgang, noted for its striking natural beauty, has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site on Sunday. During the 47th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Paris, the decision was made to inscribe the mountain and the historical relics in and around it on the list of protected landmarks and sites of internationally recognized cultural, historic or scientific value. For more than a thousand years, Mount Kumgang (Geumgang in South Korean romanization) has enchanted artists, lyrists and travelers alike with its breathtaking panorama of craggy granite peaks, tumbling waterfalls and mist-veiled gorges. Eighteenth-century Joseon-era painter Jeong Seon immortalized its splendor in his career-defining masterpiece, “Complete View of Geumgangsan Mountain.” Beyond its landscape, Mount Kumgang is home to a rich array of indigenous flora and fauna, as well as centuries-old relics of Korean Buddhism — temples perched at high altitudes, secluded hermitages and statues carved directly into the mountain’s jagged stone. With this latest addition, North Korea