National heritage cannot be recreated once it is lost. Palaces, temples, cultural assets, and natural heritage, which hold a thousand years of history, are exposed to numerous risks such as fires, floods, earthquakes, and climate change. It is now essential to adopt new preservation methods for national heritage.
AI is opening new possibilities. It enables the permanent digital preservation of national heritage, predicts risks of damage, and allows people worldwide to experience South Korea's history and culture anytime, anywhere.
At the forefront of this initiative is Heo Min, the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration. The question is clear.
Can South Korea truly preserve its thousand-year national heritage forever through AI and elevate K-heritage into a global future industry?
National heritage is an asset borrowed from future generations.
National heritage is not merely relics of the past. It embodies the history and culture of South Korea that has persisted for thousands of years and must be passed down intact to future generations. However, fires, floods, earthquakes, climate change, and urban development continuously threaten national heritage.
Restoring heritage after damage occurs is not sufficient. A new strategy is needed to predict risks before damage occurs and to digitally preserve heritage permanently. This is why Heo Min is focusing on AI.
AI will record a thousand years of national heritage forever.
Preservation of national heritage in the AI era begins with documentation. By precisely recording palaces, temples, cultural assets, and sites in three dimensions, AI can analyze the data to detect even minor cracks and deformations.
If unforeseen disasters such as fires or earthquakes occur, having digital data will enable more accurate restoration.
AI is not just a technology for photographing cultural assets; it is a technology that creates a digital version of national heritage identical to the real thing. The starting point of the AI national heritage policy is to permanently preserve a thousand years of cultural heritage in the digital realm.
National heritage data will become a new AI industry.
The competitiveness of AI comes from data. The Cultural Heritage Administration has accumulated vast amounts of data on cultural heritage, natural heritage, intangible heritage, excavation, and restoration materials.
If this data is standardized and made accessible for AI use, new industries can emerge.
Companies can develop generative AI services using national heritage data, and research institutions can conduct new studies. Startups can create content and tourism services based on cultural heritage.
National heritage data will no longer be merely materials to be stored but will transform into a national asset that creates a new AI industry.
AI smart docents will connect with citizens and the world.
To truly understand national heritage, professional explanations are necessary. However, not everyone can access the help of cultural interpreters.
Generative AI is ushering in an era where everyone can have their own cultural interpreter.
When visitors photograph cultural assets with their smartphones, AI will explain the history and significance. It can provide simple explanations for children, in-depth insights for researchers, and guidance in various languages for foreigners.
This marks a shift from an era where citizens seek out national heritage to one where AI proactively engages with the public.
AI and XR will revive lost history.
Even cultural heritage that has already disappeared can be revisited in the digital realm using AI and XR technology.
AI will analyze past records and excavation data to restore the appearance of historical sites. Citizens will be able to walk through palaces, fortresses, and ancient cities in virtual spaces.
An era has opened where anyone around the world can experience K-heritage without visiting South Korea.
National heritage will evolve from being confined to museums into dynamic cultural content through AI.
AI will identify risks to national heritage in advance.
Prevention is crucial for national heritage as well. AI can continuously analyze temperature, humidity, climate, environment, and structural changes to detect risks of damage early.
By connecting climate information from the meteorological agency, wildfire data from the forestry agency, and cultural asset information from the Cultural Heritage Administration, disaster response for national heritage can become much more sophisticated.
AI will serve as an early warning system that alerts us to risks before national heritage is endangered.
K-heritage is heading to the global market.
Just as K-pop and K-dramas have captivated the world, South Korea's national heritage can also become a new global content.
By utilizing AI translation, generative AI, and XR technology, people around the world can understand South Korea's history and culture in their own languages.
National heritage will expand beyond tourism into gaming, film, education, and the metaverse industry.
Preservation will become an industry, and culture will become a new driving force for growth.
The Cultural Heritage Administration will also transform into an AI-driven organization.
The Cultural Heritage Administration must evolve from being an institution that utilizes AI to one that operates through AI.
AI will analyze vast research and administrative data to support policy decisions. Public officials will be able to focus on preserving national heritage and developing policies, freeing them from repetitive tasks.
Transitioning from a digital Cultural Heritage Administration to an AI Cultural Heritage Administration is a key task that Heo Min must pursue.
Heo Min's mission is not limited to preserving national heritage. It is to connect South Korea's history and culture to future industries through AI.
AI will record national heritage, predict risks, and convey South Korea's culture to the world. National heritage data will serve as the foundation for new content and AI industries.
Transforming from a Cultural Heritage Administration that protects the past to one that creates the future.
Shifting from preservation-focused policies to a national strategy that connects AI and industry.
Preserving a thousand years of national heritage forever through AI and elevating K-heritage into a global cultural industry is the starting point of the AI national heritage revolution that Heo Min must lead.
Heo Min, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration:
Heo Min is a national heritage expert with a background in geology and paleontology, having conducted research and education in these fields. Since taking office as the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, he has prioritized the preservation and utilization of national heritage through AI, XR, and digital technologies.
He is focusing on nurturing generative AI, smart docents, digital documentation, and K-heritage content industries based on national heritage data, ensuring the safe transmission of heritage to future generations while developing it into a new national growth engine. His core task is to combine AI and cultural heritage to establish South Korea as a leading nation in AI-driven national heritage.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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