On February 19th at 2:00 p.m., a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA; Choi Eungchon, Administrator), the APSARA National Authority (Hang Peou, Director General), the Cambodian government agency in charge of preserving and managing the Angkorian ruins in Cambodia, and Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation (Choi Youngchang, President), the executing organization of the conservation and restoration project of Angkor Wat, in the National Palace Museum, following high-level talks on the field of cultural heritage between Korea and Cambodia.
The MOU is a follow-up to the "Joint Press Statement by the Cultural Heritage Administration of the Republic of Korea and the APSARA National Authority of the Kingdom of Cambodia" released last February in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Alongside the cooperation on the restoration and maintenance project of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which is set to launch this year, the MOU includes ▲ sharing accumulated technologies, experiences, and information on cultural heritage preservation, management, utilization, and digitalization; ▲ organizing events such as workshops; ▲ developing personnel through invitation-based training; ▲ conducting joint investigations, research, and exhibitions; and ▲ areas of cultural heritage policy, system, and administration.
Especially, Cambodia's Angkor Wat is an iconic national monument that is even featured on the Cambodian flag, and the CHA will be participating in the conservation and restoration of Angkor Wat with the conclusion of this MOU. The project will be implemented for three years, from 2024 to 2026, and will include the renovation of the northeastern base of Angkor Wat’s Bakan and maintaining tourist facilities such as a viewing staircase and a public information center for tourists visiting Angkor Wat. The CHA anticipates that this project will be a significant milestone in the history of ODA in Korea’s cultural heritage sector.
The CHA will continue to create and endorse ODA projects in cultural heritage that can contribute to national status, such as climate change ODA targeting Machu Picchu, Peru, Africa, and the Pacific Islands, by recognizing the requests of recipient countries and global issues. The CHA will strive for Korea to become one of the top 10 ODA donors through such advanced and strategic ODA projects and to strengthen the role of the Global Pivotal Country in line with its national status.
The CHA aims to proactively and strategically expand the number of countries targeted for ODA cultural heritage projects to Machu Picchu in Peru and African countries. Through Active Administration, it hopes to strengthen its role as a leading provider of ODA projects in cultural heritage and maintain its position as a Global Pivotal State.
