The "Danwon High School 4.16 Archives," a collection of records dedicated to remembering the pain and victims of the Sewol ferry disaster, has been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register.

The Korea Heritage Service announced that the final listing of two heritage items, the "Danwon High School 4.16 Archives" and "Suunjapbang and Eumsik Dimibang," was confirmed today (the 5th) at the General Assembly of the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific.

The "Danwon High School 4.16 Archives" are records containing the everyday lives of Danwon High School students who lost their lives in the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, public memorial activities, and efforts toward recovery by bereaved families and survivors.

The collection includes classroom records left by students and teachers, personal records of the victims, oral histories of survivors, and expressions of public mourning and solidarity.

Notably, as bereaved families and citizens directly gathered and preserved the records, the collection illustrates the scars left by the Sewol ferry disaster and its social impact from the perspective of those directly affected.

The process of collecting and preserving the records itself was also evaluated as meaningful, demonstrating how it heals the trauma of the disaster while fostering community recovery and solidarity.

"Suunjapbang and Eumsik Dimibang," which were inscribed together, are records containing traditional Korean culinary knowledge and the transmission process.

"Suunjapbang" is the earliest known civilian cookbook and was designated as a Treasure in 2021, while "Eumsik Dimibang" is the oldest surviving, complete, and intact cookbook written in Hangul by a noblewoman.

The UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register is operated by the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia-Pacific to preserve documentary heritage of high historical and social value.

With this latest inscription, the total number of items South Korea holds on the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Register has increased from 6 to 8, including "Samguk Yusa" (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) and the "Records on Overcoming the Taean Oil Spill."

(Video editing: Yoon Tae-ho, Photo courtesy of: Korea Heritage Service, Produced by: SBS Digital News)