Seongbuk-gu, First Autonomous District to Establish 'Seongbuk Village Archive'

Enjoy the "Roofless Museum Seongbuk" at a glance through the website (http://archive.sb.go.kr)... Leveraging the area's rich modern and contemporary history and cultural heritage... Collaborating with Seongbuk Cultural Center to systematically record and preserve local life traces, history, and culture over two years

Seongbuk-gu and the Seongbuk Cultural Center have established the district's first digital archive, "Seongbuk Village Archive," to permanently and securely store records and files related to the "Roofless Museum Seongbuk" and to allow easy access for many people. They have also launched the website (http://archive.sb.go.kr).

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) and Seongbuk Cultural Center (Director Cho Tae-kwon) have established the ‘Seongbuk Village Archive’ and opened the website (http://archive.sb.go.kr).

This is the first autonomous district to build a digital archive that permanently and safely stores records or files related to the city and allows multiple people to easily access them.

Seongbuk-gu is home to historical and cultural heritage such as Simujang, the residence of Manhae Han Yong-un, the Kansong Art Museum which holds the Hunminjeongeum Haerye manuscript, and the Korea Furniture Museum that embodies Korea’s refined clothing, food, and housing culture. It is also a place where cultural and artistic figures representing modern and contemporary Korea have interacted and worked, preserving traces of their lives and artistic activities, earning the city the nickname ‘a museum without a roof.’

Therefore, the idea of systematically recording and preserving the traces of life, history, and culture in Seongbuk-gu has been continuously advocated. In 2018, Seongbuk-gu partnered with Seongbuk Cultural Center to start the ‘Seongbuk-gu Village Record Archive Project,’ and after two years of progress, they have unveiled the digital archive as a result.

Seongbuk residents formed the ‘Seongbuk-gu Resident Record Group’ to discover and collect hidden materials in their neighborhoods, and these records will also be shared through the Seongbuk Village Archive website.

The ‘Seongbuk Village Archive’ website (http://archive.sb.go.kr) is organized into categories such as △Seongbuk by Theme △Stories △Oral Interviews △Records △Resident Record Group △Discover Seongbuk Village, allowing users to explore various village records.

Users can search for content related to people, events, places, and records associated with Seongbuk-gu, including photos, videos, and publications, by keywords or by type, era, and region. The ‘Oral Interviews’ section provides a separate menu to disclose oral information and interview videos. In ‘Seongbuk by Theme,’ stories and records are grouped by topic so that users can easily browse subjects of interest.

The ‘Records’ section offers access to various materials such as old photos of Seongbuk-gu collected from institutions or individuals. In particular, the photo materials taken by Seongbuk Cultural Center while covering redevelopment sites provide an opportunity to observe neighborhoods undergoing rapid changes at a glance.

A representative from Seongbuk Cultural Center emphasized, “We made efforts to include sufficient contextual information to enhance the value of the records, which resulted in the distinctive feature of linking content within the Seongbuk Village Archive.”

For example, searching for ‘Gireum Market’ allows users to see writings and old photos published by Seongbuk-gu or Seongbuk Cultural Center, as well as literary works depicting Gireum Market, such as Kim So-jin’s short story ‘Jeokri.’ ‘Discover Seongbuk Village’ is a location-based service that lets users explore various places in Seongbuk-gu described in literary works on a map.

Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, stated, “Seongbuk, nicknamed a museum without a roof because historical and cultural resources are scattered in every alley, has an obligation to systematically record and preserve the region’s history and culture.” He added, “We plan to continue discovering hidden records of Seongbuk and build archives with new themes continuously, playing a leading role in promoting the regional assetization of history and culture that connects the past and present.”

A location-based service 'Seongbuk Village Discovery' screen that allows exploration of various places in Seongbuk-gu depicted in literary works on a map

The Seongbuk Village Archive website (http://archive.sb.go.kr) can be accessed through the ‘Village Records’ banner at the top of the Seongbuk-gu Office website (http://sb.go.kr) and is also easily accessible via portal site searches.