S.Korea to support preservation and management of cultural heritage in Samarkand region of Uzbekistan

▲ This photo, provided by the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, shows theKiziltepa site. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, provided by the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, shows the Archaeological Institute of Samarkand. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The Korean Cultural Heritage Organization is supporting the preservation and management of cultural heritage in the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan.

The Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation announced on Saturday that it had signed an agreement with the Archaeological Institute of Samarkand under the Cultural Heritage Administration of Uzbekistan for the "Samarkand region cultural and tourism resource development capacity strengthening project."

According to the agreement, the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation will invest about KRW 4.4 billion by 2026 to open the Samarkand Archaeological Research Center conservation and management center, jointly excavate at the Kiziltepa site, and catalog Samarkand’s cultural heritage.

While the exact nature of Kiziltepa site is unknown, it is presumed to be related to the ruins of the city of Afrasiab.

From 2020 till 2021, South Korea supported the improvement of the viewing environment and the establishment of the Conservation Science Room for the Afrasiab Museum of Samarkand. 

Samarkand, located at the center of the Silk Road, is a city where diverse cultures intersect, and was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. In Korea, the Afrasiab murals depicting a figure believed to be a Goguryeo envoy is well known.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)

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