Inspection of Safe Transport of Important Artifacts at Jeungsimsa Area
Establishment of Cooperation System Among Relevant Organizations and Strengthening Disaster Response
Amid a series of national heritage damages caused by recent large-scale wildfires, Gwangju City conducted a "Fire Extinguishing Drill" for the protection of national heritage at the area around Mudeungsan Jeungsimsa Temple on the afternoon of the 1st. Provided by Gwangju City
Gwangju City recently conducted a 'National Heritage Evacuation Drill' at the Jeungsimsa area of Mudeungsan Mountain on the afternoon of the 1st, with the goal of 'protecting national heritage' in response to a series of recent large-scale wildfires causing damage to national heritage sites.
Mudeungsan Mountain is an area where numerous national heritage sites (temples and cultural properties) are concentrated, and due to its topography, there is concern about direct damage to cultural heritage in the event of a wildfire. The drill involved relevant organizations including Gwangju City, the National Gwangju Museum, the National Naju Institute of Cultural Heritage, the History and Folklore Museum, Dong-gu District Office, Dongbu Fire Station, Mudeungsan National Park Office, Cultural Heritage Care Project Group, and Jeungsimsa Temple.
The drill focused on checking the initial response system and the cooperation system among related agencies as if in a real situation. To quickly protect national heritage from wildfires and minimize damage, the following actions were carried out: implementation of a cultural property evacuation plan in the event of a wildfire, emergency packaging and securing evacuation routes for wooden cultural heritage and important artifacts, execution of national heritage evacuation, and emergency restoration measures for national heritage on-site after evacuation.
In particular, through practical training, participants familiarized themselves with each organization's duties and response procedures, such as establishing an on-site command system, emergency packaging and transport of cultural heritage, and safe transfer to evacuation sites in the event of a wildfire. After the drill, an on-the-spot discussion was held to identify problems and areas for improvement.
Through this drill, the city strengthened the cooperation system and disaster response capabilities among organizations responsible for cultural heritage protection. Going forward, the city plans to maintain continuous training and readiness to protect cultural heritage from natural disasters such as wildfires and floods.
Kim Sungbae, Director of Culture and Sports, stated, "Mudeungsan is a representative national heritage site of Gwangju and a treasure trove of mountain temple cultural heritage. We will continuously supplement and strengthen our thorough response system to protect valuable national heritage from wildfires," and asked, "We hope citizens will also actively cooperate in wildfire prevention and the protection of cultural heritage."
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