Cheil Worldwide Digitally Restores Joseon Dynasty Government Office 'Gungisi'

Restoration Over 1 Year and 6 Months After Signing the Business Agreement

The appearance of the Joseon Dynasty's military supply office restored through augmented reality (AR) technology.
[Photo by Cheil Worldwide]

Cheil Worldwide announced on the 15th that the Joseon Dynasty weapon manufacturing government office 'Gungisi,' one of the lost cultural heritages, has been restored using digital technology for the first time in 140 years.

On the same day, Cheil Worldwide held an event titled 'Digital Restoration of Joseon Weapon Manufacturing Government Office Gungisi and Cultural Heritage Metaverse Unveiling' at the Gungisi Relics Exhibition Hall located in Seoul Citizen Hall, in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Administration, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Woomi Hope Foundation. This Gungisi restoration project is significant as it is the first case of digitally restoring a central government office from the Joseon Dynasty.

In July 2021, Cheil Worldwide signed an agreement with the Cultural Heritage Administration, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Woomi Hope Foundation to promote 'Cultural Heritage Protection and Activation of Convergent Cultural Tourism Education Content,' and began the Gungisi restoration project in earnest. In February of last year, an academic forum was held to comprehensively study and review Gungisi, and the various research findings discussed at the forum were used as foundational data for the restoration.

During the one and a half years of restoration, the Cultural Heritage Administration was responsible for historical verification and supervision, while Seoul Metropolitan Government supported the exhibition space and operational personnel. Woomi Hope Foundation sponsored the project, and Cheil Worldwide took charge of project execution, including planning the metaverse app and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) content. Notably, this digital restoration of Gungisi features the development of a heritage metaverse application called 'Gongjon' (Coexistence), allowing users to experience the digitally restored cultural heritage anytime and anywhere.

By running the Gongjon app at the Gungisi Relics Exhibition Hall located on the first basement floor of the Seoul City Hall, visitors can view the Gungisi building restored to its Joseon-era appearance and watch craftsmen manufacturing weapons through augmented reality. Additionally, the app offers an experience where users can directly fire weapons such as Singijeon and Daejanggunjeon, which are usually difficult to see in real life, within the augmented reality environment. In the VR experience zone set up inside the exhibition hall, visitors can enjoy 'History VR,' which introduces the history of Gungisi through a time travel experience to the Joseon Dynasty, and 'Cinematic VR,' which allows users to experience the battlefield of the Battle of Hangju, where weapons made by Gungisi were used.

A Cheil Worldwide official stated, "This Gungisi restoration project is characterized by enabling users to experience history by crossing between virtual and real worlds through the coexistence of cultural heritage preserved in the exhibition hall and digitally restored cultural heritage." They added, "We plan to continuously support the development of historical tourism resources that can be experienced both online and offline."