Partnership with Seokjangni Museum Officially Sealed
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Anna Riethus, Neanderthal Museum; Won Cheol Choi, Mayof of Gongju and Katrin Hieke, Ice Age Europe network presenting the signed cooperation agreements -
Collegial connections with the South Korean Seokjangni Museum have existed for several years. In May 2024, a long-term partnership was officially established together with the Mayor of Gongju, Won-Cheol Choi and the Neanderthal Museum, Germany.
The collaboration involves joint publications and scientific and educational exchanges, including conferences and visits. Additionally, a traveling exhibition on the Northeast Asian Paleolithic is planned, with the Seokjangni Museum coordinating with further partners in Japan and China.
The first visible result of the collaboration is an indoor adaptation of our traveling exhibition #IceAgeEuropeNow, which was displayed at 11 locations in 7 European countries from 2017 to 2019, conveying the fascination of the Ice Age.
About our partner:
The Seokjangni Museum opened in 2006 and is located on the banks of the Geumgang River, near the archaeological open-air site Seokjangni. This site is extremely significant for the development of Paleolithic research in South Korea. Its discovery in the early 1960s is credited to the American archaeologist Albert Mohr. From 1964 to 2010, it was excavated, among others, by Professor Sohn Bo-gi from Yonsei University and stands as the first explored Paleolithic site in Korea. The site comprises a variety of geological and archaeological layers. Artifacts from the Early Paleolithic, including characteristic cobble tools and hand axes, to the Late Paleolithic have been found. The site provided the first evidence that Korea was inhabited by Homo erectus.
The discovery and excavation of the site are acknowledged as foundational for Paleolithic research in Korea, both in terms of findings and methodology. Since its discovery, more than 200 additional Paleolithic sites have been found and excavated in South Korea.