The Danwon High School April 16 Archives, which capture the pain of the Sewol ferry disaster and the memories of the victims, have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register.

The UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) finalized the inscription of the Danwon High School April 16 Archives and the Suunjapbang and Eumsik Dimibang during its general assembly held in Jakarta, Indonesia, today (November 5).

The Danwon High School April 16 Archives consist of records capturing the daily lives of Danwon High School students who lost their lives in the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, as well as public mourning activities.

It comprises a total of 225,220 items, including a calendar from April 2014 that was attached to a Danwon High School classroom and a school trip itinerary found after the ferry was salvaged.

Records depicting the process of recovery for the victims' families and survivors following the disaster are also included.

When applying for inscription last year, the Korean National Committee for Memory of the World attributed significance to the fact that citizens and bereaved families recorded the reality of a social disaster from a civic perspective.

It also explained that the very process of gathering and preserving the records serves as a process of healing and recovering from the pain and wounds of the disaster.

The Suunjapbang and Eumsik Dimibang, which were inscribed together, are records containing traditional culinary knowledge of the Korean Peninsula.

Suunjapbang is a Chinese-character cookbook authored by Kim Yu, a Confucian scholar of Andong during the Joseon Dynasty, and his grandson Kim Ryeong, containing recipes for 114 types of food, including alcohol, kimchi, and fermented soybean pastes.

It was designated as a treasure in 2021 in recognition of its historical value as the earliest cookbook written in the private sector.

Eumsik Dimibang was written around 1670 by Jang Gye-hyang, a woman from a noble aristocratic family, and is the oldest and most complete extant cookbook written in Hangeul (the Korean alphabet).

With this latest inscription, the number of UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific registers held by South Korea has increased from 6 to 8.

(Photo: Provided by the Heritage Administration, Yonhap News)