Seongbuk Cultural Center receives 2026 Prime Minister's Commendation for contributions to national records management, following a minister-level commendation in 2020
The Seongbuk Cultural Center (director Kim Young-il) received the Prime Minister's Commendation for contributions to national records management at the "2026 Records Day" ceremony.
The National Records Management Merit Award, administered by the National Archives of Korea under the Ministry of Interior and Safety, recognizes individuals, organizations, and institutions that have contributed to promoting records culture and advancing records management. This year's ceremony was held June 9 at the annex of the Government Seoul Complex.
The Seongbuk Cultural Center has partnered with Seongbuk-gu (district mayor Lee Seung-ro) since 2018 to carry out the Seongbuk Village Documentation Project. The district enacted an ordinance on the collection and management of private records in 2020 and has operated the Seongbuk Village Records Space since 2024, maintaining a sustained collaboration to build a community archive.
The center also launched the Seongbuk Village Archive website in 2020, establishing a systematic digital records management infrastructure. It now manages approximately 18,000 records and has expanded its role as a local records platform through collaboration with universities and community media organizations in the area. Since 2019, it has run an annual "Resident Records Corps" education and activity program to embed a resident-led records culture in the community.
The center received a minister-level commendation for national records management in 2020. This Prime Minister's Commendation again recognized the excellence and continuity of its community-based private records management system.
The award also reflects the fruits of sustained efforts by the public, government, and academic sectors working together to produce records and transform the traces of residents' lives into historical and cultural content. The accumulated results of those archiving activities — along with diverse records content, exhibition materials, education resources, and research data — are available on the Seongbuk Village Archive website.
"We are delighted to have our consistent efforts in systematic records management and in-depth local archiving recognized," Kim Young-il, director of the Seongbuk Cultural Center, said. "We will continue to broaden social awareness of the value of records and lead the way in records culture."
"This award is a meaningful achievement that publicly recognizes the value of the village documentation project that Seongbuk-gu and the Seongbuk Cultural Center have consistently pursued together with residents," Seongbuk-gu District Mayor Lee Seung-ro said. "We will keep working to systematically preserve the diverse lives and memories of our community and make them widely accessible."
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