• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.417-425
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• 2012

Bronze Mirror with fine linear designs in the bronze age shows the greatest alloy and casting skills of the day and presents the highest level of handcrafting and molding techniques. Lately, Lost-wax casting and sand-mould casting were used for the restoration of the national treasures of No. 141 and No. 143 Bronze Mirror with fine linear designs. Also the Principle Component Analysis, Microstructure Analysis, X-ray and SEM-EDS analysis were carried out on the restored Bronze Mirror with fine linear designs. Bronze Mirror that is made of sand-mould casting, hardly has a eutectoid and it is observed as a ${\alpha}$ dendrite. In contrast, Bronze Mirror that is made of lost-wax casting, the eutectoid has found through the ${\alpha}$ dendrite. As we compare lost-wax casting to the sand-mould casting through an analysis of restored Bronze Mirror, mostly, sand-mould casting has better castability and it seems that it brings a clear and equal Bronze Mirror as it has a low cooling rate. In this way, we are able to confirm that there is a big difference between the method by lost-wax casting and by sand-mould casting through an analysis of microstructure and restored Bronze Mirror. If such research will be continued, it will be an opportunity that investigates diverse methods of production techniques.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.91-106
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• 2019

The Donghachong tomb from Royal Tombs at Neungsanri is composed of 15 sides including the floor, and the most highly proportion of rock, two-mica granite, are used on the 7 sides (46.6%). Also, augen gneiss consist with another 3 sides (20.0%), and each of the remaining 3 sides (6.7%) are made up of granodiorite, gneissous granite and leucocratic granite, all of which were used to comprise the tabural stone. Meanwhile, the two floors of the burial chamber and the front chamber, are made up of brick-shaped amphibole schist (13.3%). These rocks are occurred in the Buyeo area and their provenance sites are located at the side of Guemgang river. The Memorial Stone for Liu Renyuen in Tang China is a typical augen gneiss showing distinct schistosity and augen texture. This rock has the same petrographic characteristics with the rocks used to build the Donghachong tomb, Sanjikri dolmens and Setapri pagoda in Buyeo. This augen gneiss is distributed from the Jeungsanri in Buyeo to Dukjiri in Gongju as a large scaled rock body, and where currently are the quarries to produce stone aggregates, garden and landscape rocks. Thus, it is highly probable that the site around Buyeo was the source area of augen gneisses since the Bronze Age. However, while augen gneiss is easier to form into shapes it should have disadvantages when it comes to painting on the tomb wall because of their petrographic characteristics of low strength and dark color. Therefore, it is very intriguing to investigate which transportation method the people of Baekje chose with consideration of the distance and terrain, efficiency and convenience.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.48-65
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• 2009

In order to understand the local vegetation history and the origin of rice cultivation, a phytoliths analysis was performed with sediments collected from archaeological site at Ga-dong in Gijang, Busan. From the analysis with the sediments of three sampling sites, fan-shape phytoliths of Oryza sativa were detected: sediment 8 ~ sediment 29 of sampling site 1, sediment 6 ~ sediment 20 of sampling site 2 and sediment 7 ~ sediment 33 of sampling site 3. On the bottom layers or near the bottom layers from the three sampling sites, high densities of Arundinoideae and Andropogoneae were detected. It indicates that these layers were wet soil environment when they were sedimented. From near bottoms up to surfaces, the densities of Arundinoideae and Andropogoneae were abruptly decreased, while the density of Oryza sativa was sharply increased. With these results, it should be considered that the rice cultivation was started from the Bronze Age on this region.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.114-125
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• 2016

Lacquer is one of the most widely used natural resin in East Asia since Neolithic Age. As a major ingredient of lacquerware, lacquer is waterproof, insect-proof and rot-proof to be durable and anti-abrasion, generally utilized for mainly painting purpose. According to lacquerware excavated from several sites of Japan and China, lacquerware seems to appear in Neolithic Age. On the other hand in case of excavation research in Korea, lacquerwares are found after the Bronze Age. The initial purpose of lacquer is estimated to be adhesive, regarding the literatures mentioning bitumen(Yeoksceong ), animal glue(Kyeo) and egg alumen(Nanbaek). Especially piece of jar coffin unearthed in Pyeongtaek Daechu-ri site had trace of restoration by lacquer and hemp as an evidence of lacquer for adhesion in Pre-Three Kingdoms period. Since then a trend to restore the broken ceramics with lacquer and decorate with golden foil lasted especially in Joseon Dynasty. In the field of gold plated lacquer method, mother-of-pearl inlaying technique for lacquerware and restoration of buildings, lacquer is still used as adhesive. Due to matter of reversibility lacquer is being avoided for conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. Lacquer as a traditional material for adhesive since ancient times, however, has advantage in adhesion strength and durability. Because synthetic resin adhesive has problem of emission of volatile organic compounds and aging over time, lacquer receives attention recently. On the contrary, by combination adhesive from mixing lacquer and animal glue, already proved the possibility of applicability and chemical modification. A research to utilize lacquer as modern paint or functional material is also conducted continuously also in China and Japan. To put traditional material into practical use and modernize, chemical research from the molecular level of the lacquer is necessary in the near future.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.4-19
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• 2019

Despite continuous volatility in ideological leanings, South Korean governments, conservative or progressive, have published a series of plans for aiding the economic development of North Korea. The Moon administration's plan is the paragon of such efforts. In addition, recent detente between the North Korean regime and the US government evokes much hope in its success. There is, hidden behind the veil of hope, apprehension about the crisis of management of cultural heritage in the North Korean region. It is believed that development policies may overwhelm efforts at conservation of cultural heritage, in particular that the hurrying of development projects would provoke insufficient and inappropriate investigation of archaeological sites., If these problems arise, responsibility for their resolution would be carried by South Korean archaeologists and governmental institutes. This paper reviews what the South Korean government has suggested for North Korea's economic recovery and examines what capability the South Korean archaeology sector has for investigating North Korean cultural heritage. It then discusses the scale of investigation needed, and what should beused as precedent in planning substantial excavations when development projects are performed in the North Korean region. Constructing a digital map system for cultural heritage of North Korea is suggested as one of the most urgent tasks precedent to substantial excavations. It is of great importance because we do not currently have any substantial information about the locations and current condition of cultural heritage sites and artifacts in the North Korean region. The mapping of Bronze Age sites in North Korea, conducted as a sort of pilot test, revealed that archaeological sites are densely distributed in several regions, especially Hwanghae-do and Pyoyang Directly-Administrated City, and that there is high potential of discovering new sites.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.25
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• pp.9-26
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• 2021

This paper describes the production methods that were originally used for an arrow bundle excavated from a Bronze Age residential area in Auraji in Jeongseon, Gangwon-do Province and the conservation treatment process that it subsequently underwent. An arrow conventionally consists of an arrowhead and a shaft. It is rare to excavate a shaft along with an arrowhead in a complete form since the shaft is made of organic materials. Notably, the arrow bundle from the Auraji site is of great significance as it shows traces of tangless stone arrowheads attached to charred shafts and offers an important case of the split end of a piece of a tree being inserted into an arrowhead. For a further examination of the characteristics of the arrows from Auraji, microscopic investigation was conducted and the type of wood used for the arrow shafts was examined. The sequence and direction of processing and the particle sizes of the grinding tools were revealed through the analysis of traces of grinding on the stone arrowheads. The shaft is presumed to have been made from a green length of three-year-old willow (Salix spp.). A curing agent with a high degree of waterproofing and reversibility was used during the on-site curing process according to demands of the surrounding environment, and a technique that the authors call the "Bridge" method was used for emergency collection of the relics. Once the bundle was transferred to the conservation treatment lab, reinforcing materials were carefully chosen as it was important not to damage the relics during the process of turning them for the repair of their reverse sides. For this purpose, artificial clay was selected since it can safely bear a load and has excellent physical properties. Finally, detached parts were rejoined, the relics and their surrounding materials were cleaned, and the bottom sides were finished with epoxy resin prior to the display of the relics at the museum.

• Bangmulgwan gwa yeongu (The National Museum of Korea Journal)
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• v.1
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• pp.150-173
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• 2024

The Gyeongsang region experienced an epoch-making social transformation approximately around the second to first century BCE, including the replacement of Bronze Age types of tombs (such as dolmens, stone cist tombs, and earthen tombs with flat capstones) with clusters of wooden coffin tombs and the emergence of wajil pottery (soft stoneware) and ironware. These shifts in the archaeological material evidence have been discussed in the context of the formation of the states that comprised the three Han confederacies and in relation to wooden coffin tombs built in later periods. This paper explicates the appearance of clustered wooden coffin tombs with accompanying ironware by categorizing them. In particular, it examines the emergence of wooden coffin tombs by creating the Wolseong-dong type, which differs from Tomb No. 5 in Joyang-dong and Tomb No. 1 in Daho-ri with their deep burial pits and large quantities of prestige goods and soft stoneware items. The Wolseong-dong type of tomb commonly features ironware, including flat-bladed iron axes, oblong cast iron axes, iron wire, iron chisels, and iron swords; a small slender, rectangular wooden coffin tomb with a shallow burial pit of less than sixty centimeters; and pottery of a type preceding soft stoneware, such as long-necked jars, triangular attached-rim pottery bowls and pots, and mounted vessels. There are also a few bronzeware items found in them, but no prestige goods. This study scrutinizes tombs in Tamni-ri in Uiseong, Hagu-ri in Gyeongju, and Hakjeongdong in Daegu by comparing them with the Wolseong-dong type, and it confirms that in Sinseodong in Daegu, Wolseong-dong type tombs and later Joyang-dong type tombs have separate spatial distributions within the site. This also indicates that the Wolseong-dong type is a valid categorization among wooden coffin tombs. Although the rise of the Wolseong-dong type tomb is associated with the migration of a group, I reserve judgement on whether its origins should be understood in the context of the iron culture in the southwestern region of South Korea that was sparked by King Jun's advance to the south or if they lie in the western region of North Korea. Either way, the Wolseong-dong type is thought to be the tombs of a group of people with lower hierarchical status than the occupants of the later Joyang-dong type.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.4-19
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• 2017

Kim Jeong-gi (pen-name: Changsan, Mar. 31, 1930 - Aug. 26, 2015) made a major breakthrough in the history of cultural property excavation in Korea: In 1959, he began to develop an interest in cultural heritage after starting work as an employee of the National Museum of Korea. For about thirty years until he retired from the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in 1987, he devoted his life to the excavation of our country's historical relics and artifacts and compiled countless data about them. He continued striving to identify the unique value and meaning of our cultural heritage in universities and excavation organizations until he passed away in 2015. Changsan spearheaded all of Korea's monumental archeological excavations and research. He is widely known at home and abroad as a scholar of Korean archeology, particularly in the early years of its existence as an academic discipline. As such, he has had a considerable influence on the development of Korean archeology. Although his multiple activities and roles are meaningful in terms of the country's archaeological history, there are limits to his contributions nevertheless. The Deoksugung Palace period (1955-1972), when the National Museum of Korea was situated in Deoksugung Palace, is considered to be a time of great significance for Korean archeology, as relics with diverse characteristics were researched during this period. Changsan actively participated in archeological surveys of prehistoric shell mounds and dwellings, conducted surveys of historical relics, measured many historical sites, and took charge of photographing and drawing such relics. He put to good use all the excavation techniques that he had learned in Japan, while his countrywide archaeological surveys are highly regarded in terms of academic history as well. What particularly sets his perspectives apart in archaeological terms is the fact that he raised the possibility of underwater tombs in ancient times, and also coined the term "Haemi Culture" as part of a theory of local culture aimed at furthering understanding of Bronze Age cultures in Korea. His input was simply breathtaking. In 1969, the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH) was founded and Changsan was appointed as its head. Despite the many difficulties he faced in running the institute with limited financial and human resources, he gave everything he had to research and field studies of the brilliant cultural heritages that Korea has preserved for so long. Changsan succeeded in restoring Bulguksa Temple, and followed this up with the successful excavation of the Cheonmachong Tomb and the Hwangnamdaechong Tomb in Gyeongju. He then explored the Hwangnyongsa Temple site, Bunhwangsa Temple, and the Mireuksa Temple site in order to systematically evaluate the Buddhist culture and structures of the Three Kingdoms Period. We can safely say that the large excavation projects that he organized and carried out at that time not only laid the foundations for Korean archeology but also made significant contributions to studies in related fields. Above all, in terms of the developmental process of Korean archeology, the achievements he generated with his exceptional passion during the period are almost too numerous to mention, but they include his systematization of various excavation methods, cultivation of archaeologists, popularization of archeological excavations, formalization of survey records, and promotion of data disclosure. On the other hand, although this "Excavation King" devoted himself to excavations, kept precise records, and paid keen attention to every detail, he failed to overcome the limitations of his era in the process of defining the nature of cultural remains and interpreting historical sites and structures. Despite his many roles in Korean archeology, the fact that he left behind a controversy over the identity of the occupant of the Hwangnamdaechong Tomb remains a sore spot in his otherwise perfect reputation.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.230-246
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• 2023

The wooden fence(木柵), which began to appear in the Bronze Age and is presumed to be the oldest defense facility in human history, was used as a fortress for the purpose of further strengthening military defense functions until after the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592 in the Joseon Dynasty(壬辰倭亂). As it was established as the concept of a fortress or a fence installed outside a fence castle(城柵) or barracks fence(營柵), its importance as an essential facility for defense was further highlighted. This study is the result of exploring wooden fence that were used as official facilities during the Joseon Dynasty, focusing on literature surveys such as 『Annals of the Joseon Dynasty』 and 『New Jeungdonggukyeojiseungram』 In this study, in particular, the conclusion of this study is as follows, focusing on the use and function of Nokgakseong(鹿角城), underwater wooden fence, installation methods, and materials of wooden fences, is as follows. The conclusions of this study, which focused on the materials of the wooden fence, are as follows. First, as invasions by foreign enemies became more frequent in the late Goryeo and early Joseon Dynasty, wooden fences played a major role as a major out-of-castle defense facility((防禦施設). In addition, wooden fences were modified and installed into various types such as wooden fences(木柵城), Nokgakseong, a fence made up of large branches in the shape of a deer antler, and underwater wooden fences(水中木柵) according to the circumstances of the times, government policy, and location environment. Second, wooden fences were installed in strategic locations in defense facilities for military purposes, such as mountain fortress(山城), fortresses(營), camps(鎭), forts(堡), and castles(邑城) in strategic locations, and were used for defense in case of emergency. According to the urgency of farming, it was installed in accordance with the non-farming season, when it is easy to mobilize manpower to avoid the busy farming season. The size of the wooden fence of the Joseon Dynasty, which are confirmed through literature records, was converted into Pobaekchuk(布帛尺), and the circumference was very diverse from 4,428chuk(2,066m) to 55chuk(25m). Third, Nokgakseong is an efficient combat support facility that is more aggressive than a general wooden fence, and the records of Nokgakseong in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty appeared during the King Sejong period the record was 20 times, the most. By region, it was found that it was mainly installed in coastal rugged areas such as Pyeongan and Hamgildo(12), which are the 6-jin areas of the 4th Army. Fourth, in the early 15th century, as the royal court established a maritime defense strategy for the coastal area of the southern coast, after the Sampo Invasion(三浦倭亂), riots by Japanese settlers in Sampo in 1510, major military posts including eupseong(邑城), camps, and forts were established. The installation of underwater barriers around various government facilities rapidly increased as a defense facility to block the warships of Japanese pirates around various government facilities. Fifth, between the 15th and 17th centuries before and after the Japanese Invasion of Korea in Sampo, underwater fences were installed in the Southern coast and Ganghwa Island. In particular, in the 15th century, underwater fences were intensively installed in coastal areas of Gyeongsangnam-do, such as Jepo. Pine trees and Oaks are the main materials used for underwater fences, but other materials such as Oldham's meliosma, Loose-flower hornbeam and The vines of arrowroots were also used as materials for wooden fences.