UNESCO’s first international organization for documentary heritage to open in S. Korea

 UNESCO's first international organization in the field of documentary heritage is set to open in the central city of Cheongju this week, the interior ministry said Tuesday, Yonhap reports. 

The International Centre for Documentary Heritage (ICDH) will support UNESCO's Memory of the World Program, which aims to preserve documentary heritage around the world and promote its global awareness, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The 4,307-square-meter site consists of one underground floor and four aboveground floors, which cost 21.8 billion won (US$16 million) to construct.

The center will come up with ways to monitor and manage the world's records and collections listed in the Memory of the World Program, and seek to strengthen the preservation capabilities of documentary heritage in African regions, in order to protect endangered records and excavate latent heritage.

The ministry said the center in Cheongju, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, will also take part in a study analyzing the physical traits of "Jikji," the world's oldest extant book printed with movable metal type, along with the Gutenberg Bible.

Some 100 figures are expected to join the opening ceremony Wednesday, including Interior Minister Lee Sang-min; Ha Byoung-pil, the president of the National Archives of Korea; Kim Kwi-bae, the chair of the Memory of the World Committee for AsiaPacific; and Papa Momar Diop, the chair of the African Regional Committee Memory of the World.

The ICDH is scheduled to hold various events, including international conferences and exhibitions, until June next year.