ETRI WEBZINE

South Korean researchers are revitalizing the nation’s world-class cultural heritage through digital transformation. By collaborating with museums, they are bringing the rich history and culture of Korea to life using AI-based technology development.

Since 2020, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and the National Museum of Korea have been working together under a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism R&D project to develop and demonstrate key technologies for the digital transformation of Korean cultural heritage.

The two institutions have been applying AI technology to enhance the quality and usability of museum data, and they have been promoting research on foundational technologies and the development of an intelligent heritage platform that manages and utilizes new types of data in various environments and for different purposes.

ETRI has focused on AI-based data analysis and standardization of cultural heritage. Notable efforts include:

- Data fabric-based archives¹⁾
- AI-based cultural heritage analysis²⁾
- Digital heritage standards³⁾
- Generative AI-based data expansion⁴⁾
- Sharing platforms for various demands⁵⁾

Using these technologies, the research team has been striving to create an intelligent digital heritage sharing platform to support:

- Museum artifact management
- Cultural heritage preservation research
- Immersive content creation
- Interactive cultural heritage education

The developing digital heritage sharing platform uses data fabric technology based on AI, enabling immediate utilization of the diverse forms of digital cultural heritage data continuously increasing in museums, aiming for the world’s top-class usability.

Globally, attempts to enhance the value and usability of cultural heritage by integrating digital and AI technologies are increasing. However, museums often find it challenging to have a practical platform integrating these technologies due to the complexity and specific needs of digital heritage.

Around the world, experts in cultural heritage and digital technology are collaborating, yet significant trial and error occurs due to differences in experience and knowledge, along with issues related to data structure, usability limitations, and conflicts with museum processes.

In this context, developing and applying the new platform to the work of the National Museum of Korea staff is considered crucial in advancing South Korea’s leadership in the digital transformation of cultural heritage.

Moreover, a digital standard process for storing and utilizing high-quality digital cultural heritage data, generated and utilized by new technologies annually, is being completed in collaboration with museums, a world-first achievement.

This digital heritage standard process guarantees the availability of data not only for existing cultural heritage but also for various applications like virtual reality, digital twin, and the metaverse. This transformation allows museums to become proprietors of their data, adapting it into various forms.

Data produced through the standard process creates a foundation for the highest level of cultural heritage, usable in exhibitions, preservation, education, and more. In the digital age, we can expect strategic digital incursions and unfounded claims from certain countries aiming to advance their own interests. Particularly during such times, it is crucial for nations to strive to secure the digital scalability of their cultural heritage. Thus, the completion of a comprehensive digital standards process holds significant importance.

Through four years of joint efforts, ETRI and the National Museum of Korea have established a high-quality digitalization process for cultural heritage, which includes sharing and spreading this process to affiliated research institutes, related industries, and academic institutions such as Technology Research Institute for Culture & Heritage, LiST Co., Ltd., Chung-Ang University, and Korea National University of Cultural Heritage.
1) Data Fabric-Based Archives: Technology that connects and provides access to relevant data anytime, anywhere, based on AI.
2) AI-Based Cultural Heritage Analysis: Technology for analyzing cultural heritage data and automatically generating metadata.
3) Digital Heritage Standards: Standards for the comprehensive utilization of increasing digital cultural heritage data.
4) Generative AI-Based Data Expansion: Technology supporting the generation of required resolutions, qualities, and styles for content and devices.
5) Sharing Platforms for Various Demands: Platform technology that can support purposes such as preservation, exhibition, education, and management.

Digital Pyeongsaengdo - 2023 Red Dot Award Winner

Using the digital standard technology developed last year, ETRI, the National Museum of Korea, and the Technology Research Institute for Culture & heritage have created digital content of the National Treasure “Pensive Bodhisattva” at the Millennium Hall of Incheon International Airport Terminal 1. This work won the public branding category of the German IF Design Award, one of the world’s top three design awards, last year.

Digital Pyeongsaengdo - 2023 Red Dot Award Winner

Additionally, the “Pyeongsaengdo” content of the National Museum of Korea, which implements world-class high-quality cultural heritage content, won the Red Dot Award last year.

The research team has utilized ultra-high-resolution digital asset data for the digital “Gwanggaeto Stele” content in the main lobby of the National Museum of Korea, “The Path of History.” In addition, the Korea Heritage Service co-exhibited cultural heritage immersive content using ‘Chilbo Sando Folding Screen’ with the Cleveland Museum of Art in the U.S., showcasing the world’s top-level digitalization of cultural heritage based on the developed technology.

(Left) Digital Gwanggaeto Stele installed in the main lobby of the National Museum of Korea
(Right) Joint exhibition and digital repatriation of “Mountain Chilbo Screen” owned by the Cleveland Museum of Art

The foundation of these achievements lies in the followings:

- Improving the quality of cultural heritage digital data
- Developing technology for visualizing cultural heritage networks
- Text mining technology for generating knowledge-based cultural heritage relationships

This includes research on developing AI technologies specialized for cultural heritage and studies on the creation and utilization of cultural heritage assets.

The collaboration model between the two institutions addresses digital cultural heritage data utilization and field issues in areas like preservation, exhibition, education, archives, and open storage.

Complete digital transformation will be achieved when a platform is built that allows broad searchability and easy utilization and sharing of cultural heritage information and data within people’s lives.

ETRI, together with the National Museum of Korea, has advanced numerous cutting-edge studies, including:

- Cultural property database modeling
- AI-based automatic digital conversion of traditional cultural heritage data
- Standardization research on ultra-high-resolution digital cultural heritage assets

Tae-hee Lee, a researcher at the National Museum of Korea, said, “We expect that the long-term collaboration between these two leading institutions in cultural heritage and advanced technology will set the stage for developing AI technology and application models usable in the specialized field of Korean cultural heritage.”

Jae-Ho Lee, the head researcher at ETRI’s Content Convergence Research Section, added, “The numerous digital projects on cultural heritage data at the National Museum of Korea can be considered the starting point of South Korea’s digital transformation. Both institutions have prepared for the digitalization of heritage-related information, such as descriptions of each cultural property, related materials, and relationships with other heritage items.”

ETRI explained that their new challenge this year in the data fabric field is innovative and promising, offering a positive opportunity to secure international technological competitiveness in the era of digital transformation.

This technology has achieved results as part of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s project, “Development of Intelligent Heritage Sharing Platform Technology Leading Digital Standards for Cultural Heritage.”

Jae-Ho Lee, Principal Researcher
Content Convergence Research Section
(+82-42-860-5428 jhlee3@etri.re.kr)