Where Should 14,673 World Documentary Heritage Records Be Kept? Site and Scale of Jeju 4.3 Archive Under Serious Review

【Financial News Jeju = Yongbok Jeong】 A specialized archive to preserve 14,673 records related to the Jeju uprising, which have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register, and connect them with research, education and exhibitions has entered the stage of determining its site and scale. Follow-up work to turn the international recognition of the inscription into actual preservation and utilization infrastructure is now gathering pace.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 11th, the province held a launch briefing on the feasibility study and master plan for the Jeju 4.3 Archive at a seminar room in the Jeju Literature Center on the 9th.
The briefing was attended by the Korea Institute for Local Autonomy and Economy, which is conducting the project, as well as experts on the Jeju uprising, survivors’ families and officials from relevant departments. They discussed the archive’s functions, construction direction and key tasks.
The core purpose of the project is to establish a basis for deciding where to build the archive and how large it should be. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will examine existing facilities related to the Jeju uprising and examples of archives in Korea and abroad, while reviewing candidate sites based on development feasibility, accessibility and environmental considerations. The master plan will also cover the building’s scale, spatial layout, and operating and management arrangements.
The need for a Jeju uprising archive grew after the records were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register on April 17 last year. A total of 14,673 records documenting the investigation into the truth of the Jeju uprising, the restoration of victims’ honor, and the process of reconciliation and coexistence were added to the UNESCO international register in 2025.
The inscribed collection consists of more than documents alone. It includes 13,976 documents, 19 books, 25 postcards, 20 pamphlets, one inscription, 538 videos and 94 audio recordings. This is why a digital archiving system capable of preserving audiovisual materials over the long term is needed alongside temperature and humidity control and restoration for paper records.
The archive will not merely serve as a facility for storing materials that have already been inscribed. It will also investigate and collect additional records related to the Jeju uprising that remain scattered among individuals and institutions, helping prevent their damage or loss.
The plan under consideration would bring together research functions for scholars, educational programs for future generations, and exhibition functions through which general visitors can encounter the history and records of the Jeju uprising.
The international significance of the Jeju uprising records is also broadening the role envisioned for the archive. The records were recognized for their value not only because they document the victims of state violence, but also because they show the process extending from truth-finding and the restoration of honor to reconciliation and the recovery of the community.
Once established, the archive could serve not simply as a storage facility for the past of the Jeju uprising, but as a hub of record culture where researchers in Korea and abroad and future generations can continually examine peace, human rights and the process of addressing historical injustices.
The project has also been included as a Jeju regional pledge item in the government’s five-year national administration plan. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province secured 200 million won in national funding to prepare the master plan.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province previously proposed building an archive with a total project cost of approximately 30 billion won by 2030. However, the project cost and completion target may be adjusted depending on the master plan, consultations with central government ministries and administrative procedures.
The site has not yet been finalized. The area around Jeju 4.3 Peace Park was mentioned during an earlier review of the project, but the current master plan project will reassess candidate sites based on development conditions, accessibility and environmental considerations.
The results of this project are therefore expected to mark the first major turning point for the archive project. The total project cost, consultations with the central government, and the design and construction procedures can be specified only after the site and building scale are determined.
The project must also resolve how the archive will be operated and how functions will be divided among related institutions, including the existing Jeju 4.3 Peace Memorial Hall and Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation. How record collection and preservation will be divided from exhibition and education functions at existing facilities will also affect the project’s efficiency.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province plans to gather opinions from survivors’ families, experts and residents during the project and use them to specify the archive’s functions and spatial layout.
Younggeun Byun, Director of the Special Self-Governing Administrative Bureau of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, said, "The records of the Jeju uprising are documentary heritage containing the truth and history of the uprising, as well as the process of reconciliation and coexistence. We will create a hub of record culture that conveys the values of peace and human rights to future generations while reflecting the views of survivors’ families, experts and residents."


[email protected] Yongbok Jeong Reporter