There is a cultural heritage in South Korea that is not properly preserved even though it has been designated as a national treasure. It is the oldest whale hunting petroglyphs, the Bangudae Petroglyphs.

▲ Appearance of the Bangudae Petroglyphs

The Bangudae Petroglyphs are petroglyphs located in Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, South Korea. It is the oldest whale hunting petroglyphs in the world, designated as Korea's National Treasure No. 285, and is listed as Daegokcheon Amgakhwa-gun on the UNESCO World Heritage List. However, it has been in concern due to constant flooding and exposure. Related organizations continue to fail with their experiments and conflict over conservation measures, so nothing is being done for its conservation.

The construction of the Sayeon Dam began in October 1962 and was completed in December 1965, and it was built to supply industrial water and drinking water in Ulsan Metropolitan City. The petroglyphs were discovered in December 1971, six years after the construction of the dam, and the fact that the petroglyphs were being locked. Since 2013, the level of the water of the dam, which had a 60m water level, has been lowered to below 52m in order to protect the petroglyphs.

▲ Pattern of the Bangudae Petroglyphs

The preservation plan and the registration of the Bangudae Petroglyphs in the UNESCO World Heritage Site are drifting due to controversy. In January 2010, the Cultural Heritage Administration listed the Bangudae Petroglyphs in the provisional list of World Heritage Sites in South Korea. The provisional list is the first of the four stages of review in the country before applying to UNESCO for World Heritage listing. Later, in 2011 and 2015, the second stage of priority registration was applied by the Cultural Heritage Administration, but it was not selected due to lack of preservation methods and cultural values, and it will be delayed due to differences over various preservation measures. Eventually, the Ulsan Metropolitan Government decided to install a water level control floodgate for the Sadyeon Dam.

People need to be interested in this and preserve all cultural heritage sites as well as the Bangudae Petroglyphs. They should not just watch how our cultural heritage sites are preserved.

By Minkyu Kim