Nepal's Earthquake-Damaged Cultural Heritage Revived Through Korea's Digital Preservation Technology

[Financial News] Korea's archival and cultural heritage preservation technology will be shared with Nepal to digitally preserve precious documents and cultural assets damaged in the massive 2015 earthquake.
The National Library of Korea said on the 26th that it will support a training program in Korea for Nepali library officials as part of the 'Digitization and Preservation Project for Materials Held by the Nepal National Library.' The training runs from the 24th to the 28th.
Nineteen officials from 11 organizations, including the Nepal National Library, Kaiser Library, the Nepal Library Association, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), took part in the program. The delegation will visit institutions including the National Library of Korea, Seoul National University, and Jangseogak Archives to study examples of document digitization and digital library construction and operation.
The National Library of Korea shared the technology and experience it has accumulated through its national document preservation and digitization projects. It introduced the latest archiving process for digitizing old newspapers, along with services for preserving national documents and sharing knowledge and information resources. It also explained how to preserve archival cultural heritage over the long term while providing it to users in digital form.
The project was prompted by Nepal's devastating 2015 earthquake. As major libraries and cultural facilities in Nepal were damaged at the time, the need to safely preserve cultural heritage materials, including rare books, became more urgent. Since 2023, the Nepal National Library and others have been promoting a project to convert their holdings into digital form and build a preservation system.
The project is funded by the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund (EAKPF), a trust fund contributed by South Korea and managed and operated by the ADB. Based on a memorandum of understanding signed with the ADB last year, the National Library of Korea is also cooperating to strengthen Nepal's capacity for document preservation and digitization.
Nam Young-joon, director of the National Library of Korea, said, "I hope this training will provide practical help in strengthening the Nepalese libraries' capacity to preserve and digitize cultural heritage materials," adding, "We will solidify a sustainable foundation for cooperation between the two countries and continue technical and human exchanges in the library sector."
[email protected] Yoo Seon-jun Reporter