Officials attend the signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding on underwater cultural heritage cooperation between the Korea Heritage Service and the National Museum of Mongolia at the Mongolian Government Palace on Thursday (local time). From left: Korea Heritage Service Director General Heo Min, President Lee Jae Myung, Mongolian President Ukhna Khurelsukh and National Museum of Mongolia Director General Sampildondog Cholon. [Korea Heritage Service]
Officials attend the signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding on underwater cultural heritage cooperation between the Korea Heritage Service and the National Museum of Mongolia at the Mongolian Government Palace on Thursday (local time). From left: Korea Heritage Service Director General Heo Min, President Lee Jae Myung, Mongolian President Ukhna Khurelsukh and National Museum of Mongolia Director General Sampildondog Cholon. [Korea Heritage Service]

South Korea and Mongolia have agreed to cooperate on underwater cultural heritage for the first time, while also expanding collaboration to cover cultural and natural heritage more broadly.

The Korea Heritage Service announced Friday that it signed two memorandums of understanding at the Mongolian Government Palace on Thursday (local time) — one with the National Museum of Mongolia on underwater cultural heritage cooperation, and another with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences on cultural and natural heritage preservation.

The MOUs were concluded as part of the South Korea-Mongolia summit, with both heads of state present at the signing ceremony.

Under the MOU with the National Museum of Mongolia, the two sides will pursue joint research and archaeological surveys of underwater cultural heritage, participation in training programs for underwater heritage specialists, and cooperation on exhibitions, publications and other activities to raise awareness of underwater cultural heritage. It marks the first cooperation agreement between South Korea and Mongolia in the underwater heritage field.

Under the arrangement, Mongolian researchers will join an underwater archaeology training program run by the National Institute of Maritime Heritage in 2027. Starting in 2028, the two countries plan to conduct joint surveys of the underwater ruins at Badar Khundaga Lake, located at the foot of Otgontenger — the highest peak of the Khangai Mountains.

Situated about 700 kilometers west of Ulaanbaatar, the Badar Khundaga Lake site yielded more than 370 artifacts related to ritual practices when it was first excavated in 2018. The two countries plan to expand joint surveys, research, exhibitions and outreach to underwater cultural heritage sites across Mongolian lakes, including the Badar Khundaga site, and to transfer South Korea's underwater heritage survey systems and expertise to Mongolia.

The MOU with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences covers the preservation and restoration of cultural and natural heritage in the Gobi Desert, scientific analysis and mutual exchange of research data, joint field surveys to gather on-site data, discussions on the custody and exhibition of cultural and natural heritage from both countries, bilateral researcher exchanges and education, and broader cooperation on surveys and research across both countries' cultural and natural heritage sectors.

The two institutions' affiliated bodies have maintained ties in geology, archaeology, architecture and disaster prevention — including a joint research agreement signed in 2018 as a follow-up to the return of Mongolian dinosaur fossils. That case involved the repatriation of 11 Mongolian dinosaur fossils smuggled into South Korea in 2014.

The new MOU extends the conservation technologies and expertise the two countries have built up together to the full breadth of Mongolia's cultural and natural heritage, with the Gobi Desert as a central focus.

"We will continue to actively pursue overseas heritage cooperation with countries that share close historical and cultural ties with Korea, broadening the scope of our heritage research and surveys and spreading our heritage management capabilities to the world," the Korea Heritage Service said.

Meanwhile, President Lee Jae Myung, who is on a state visit to Mongolia, attended an official welcome ceremony Thursday afternoon at Sukhbaatar Square in central Ulaanbaatar.

A summit between Lee and Mongolian President Ukhna Khurelsukh was set to follow the ceremony. The talks are expected to focus on cooperation for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, as well as expansion of exchanges related to critical mineral supply chains.

On the sidelines of the summit, the two leaders plan to issue a joint declaration titled "The Golden Age of Korea-Mongolia Relations," laying out a shared vision for the future of bilateral ties.


pink@heraldcorp.com