Korean Studies Institute and CSMC Agree on Partnership

10 July 2025

Photo: Korean Studies Institute

Chong Jong-sup and Michael Friedrich signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the KSI and the CSMC.

The 10th IAPW conference in Andong, South Korea, focused on woodblock printing and digitalisation. A key achievement was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Korean Studies Institute and CSMC, aiming to strengthen research networks on manuscript and woodblock printing heritage.

From 24 to 26 June, the tenth edition of the ‘International Conference on Printing Woodblock – Safeguarding Manuscript and Print Heritage: Digitalization’ was held in Andong, South Korea, a city renowned as a longstanding centre of traditional and intellectual culture on the peninsula. The symposium, which also celebrated the tenth anniversary of the International Association for Printing Woodblock (IAPW), was hosted by the Korean Studies Institute (KSI) and co-organised by the CSMC. Michael Friedrich, honorary director of the CSMC, and doctoral researcher Maristella Spur participated in the event.

Over the course of two days, thirteen presentations by scholars from several countries addressed topics including printing woodblocks and woodblock-printed volumes, as well as the evolving role of AI and digital humanities in preserving and understanding written heritage in South Korea and internationally. These subjects were explored from multiple perspectives. A highlight for both organising institutions was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Chong Jong-sup, President of the KSI and co-chair of the IAPW, and Professor Friedrich. This formal agreement aims to enhance international collaboration and strengthen scholarly networks dedicated not only to manuscript studies but also to research on printing woodblock heritage.

Following the conference, participants were invited to visit some of the region’s most significant historical sites. On 25 June, they explored the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tosan Sŏwŏn, a private academy founded in 1574 to honour the renowned scholar T’oegye Yi Hwang (1501–1570), as well as Pongjŏngsa, the largest temple in Andong, which houses the oldest wooden building on the peninsula. On 26 June, attendees visited the Hahoe Folk Village and toured the Andong Hanji paper-making factory, which demonstrated the traditional process of manufacturing Korean paper from the bark of paper mulberry trees.

The KSI was established in 1995 to promote and conduct extensive research on various forms of local traditional culture and to discover, investigate, and collect private documentary heritage representing both North Kyŏngsang Province and Korea more broadly. Currently, it houses over 670,000 items, including more than 200,000 old books (kosŏ 古書), around 380,000 old documents (komunsŏ 古文書), nearly 70,000 printing woodblocks (mokp’an 木板), and 1,436 inscribed wooden plaques (hyŏnp’an 懸板), among others. Since 2014, its premises have hosted the headquarters of the International Association for Printing Woodblocks, which fosters international cooperation and promotes the preservation and appreciation of printing woodblocks. In addition, the KSI maintains close ties with UNESCO. In 2015, it secured the admission of 64,226 Confucian Printing Woodblocks into the Memory of the World Register; in 2018, it established the Korean Memory of the World Knowledge Centre (KMoW); and since 2022, it has served as the Secretariat for the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP).