How to use the Sewol Ferry records from the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Catalog… 13th debate

An event will be held to explore ways to utilize the records of the Sewol Ferry disaster, which were added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific region list earlier this month.

The Korean National Commission for UNESCO, together with the Ministry of Education, announced on the 12th that it will hold the '4/16 Archive Symposium' under the theme of 'Recorded memories, becoming today's education' at the UNESCO Center in Myeong-dong, Seoul on the 13th.

Following the opening remarks by Minister of Education Choi Kyo-jin, who serves as the Chairman of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, and a greeting by Hong Hyeon-ik, Secretary-General of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, Lee Ji-seong, director of the April 16 Memory Repository, mother of the late Danwon High School student Kim Do-eon, delivered a keynote speech on the 'Records and Meaning of the April 16 Archives'.

Lee Hyeon-jeong, a professor of anthropology at Seoul National University who served as the person in charge of the April 16 Memory Repository Oral Testimony Project, and Kim Gwi-bae, Chairman of the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Committee, look back on the Asia-Pacific Regional List registration process and highlight its significance.

Scott Gabriel Knowles, a leading U.S. disaster historian and professor of history at Northeastern University, examines the educational and social value of the April 16 Archives.

Through a general discussion and Q&A with presenters and experts, the tasks for systematic preservation and management of disaster records and community recovery after a disaster will be discussed.

The 'Danwon High School 4/16 Archive' is a record containing the daily lives of Danwon High School students who died in the Sewol Ferry disaster in 2014, the public's memorial activities, and the recovery efforts of bereaved families and survivors, totaling 235,220 items.

Minister Choi Kyo-jin said, "We will strive to ensure that valuable records can lead to learning for future generations and practice to create a safe society."