Participants of the inaugural International Cooperation Program on Conservation gather in Seoul to share heritage restoration expertise, Aug. 5, 2025. Courtesy of Korea Heritage Service
Two decades of sharing preservation expertise — painstakingly restoring ancient wooden architecture, analyzing historic pigments and fortifying archaeological sites — with neighbors across Asia have culminated in a broader mission for Korea: opening those specialized vaults to the rest of the world.
The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, an arm of the Korea Heritage Service, officially launched the International Cooperation Program on Conservation (ICPC) on Tuesday. The intensive 60-day initiative marks a major strategic expansion of Korea’s flagship technical training program, which had previously focused exclusively on regional Asian partnerships.
Following a highly competitive selection process that drew applicants from 31 countries, five distinguished experts were selected for the inaugural global cohort: David Nkusi of the University of Rwanda, Zilola Tulkinova of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Phub Thinley of the National Library and Archives of Bhutan, Fernando Andres Zambrano Luque of Ecuador’s National Institute of Cultural Heritage and Mohamed Nuhaad of the Maldives National Centre for Cultural Heritage.
