Ulsan Hemisphere Petroglyphs - More Serious Than You Thought

 Hemisphere petroglyphs are submerged in water throughout the winter except for the third and fourth months of the dry season. Moreover, the surface was severely damaged by weathering for more than 3,000 years and the risk of peeling was severe, and it was submerged in water for eight or nine months In addition, as exposure to the atmosphere for three to four months is repeated every year, abrasion and peeling caused by freezing and thawing are accelerating. When rocks are submerged in water, water penetrates between the rocks with high water pressure, widening the gap, and when water is drained, pressure reduction and dehydration cause cracks in the rocks and weakening strength. Comparing the rubbing produced by Hwang Soo-young and Munmyeong University in the 1970s with the current rock screen, the breakage and abrasion of the rock are already too terrible. The great World Heritage Site, which is worth as much as the Altamira Cave mural as a prehistoric site, has been neglected in this way for more than 30 years, has lost my words about the recognition system of officials rushing to execute tens of billions of won in budget for tourism. Of course, the good will to raise Ulsan citizens' pride and give them new identity by using Bangudae petroglyphs as Ulsan's cultural symbol can be sufficiently resolved, but all plans for tourism resourceization should be discussed after the measures to preserve petroglyphs are completely established. The question of whether to build a road now belongs to a completely secondary matter. Of course, Ulsan City Hall will not be neglecting its efforts on these issues. Since Bangudae Petroglyphs and Cheonjeon-ri Petroglyphs are designated as National Treasures No. 285 and 147, the preservation measures belong to the central government and national expenses, and the decision is not easily made, so local administrators are rushing their own tourism resource plans. As for the conservation measures, three things have been raised: 1) building water barriers around petroglyphs 2) carrying out huge civil engineering works to change the flow path 3) lowering the water level of dams, but in my view, none of these measures are stopgap measures are realistic. As such, petroglyphs are currently in a very weak state of stone and are carved with very shallow intaglio, so such measures cannot prevent rapid natural damage such as moisture, acid rain, pollution, and freezing. In my judgment, there can be only two fundamental measures. One of them is to eliminate the sandstone, restore the area to a natural state of flow, and come up with conservation measures, but it is difficult to judge how feasible it is when considering the water supply system of Ulsan Metropolitan City. Since a large Daegok Dam has been built again over Sajeon Dam, it may be possible if the use of Daegok Dam alone can achieve desired water supply measures or establish other methods of industrial water utilization. The second is to move the remains of the hemisphere itself, as in the situation of the Abusimbel temple on the Nile River in Egypt. If it is technically possible to completely cut and separate this rock, it is to remove and preserve this rock and rather build an imitation in its original place. In my opinion, if the latter method can be done technically without damaging hemisphere petroglyphs, it would be the most realistic and permanent method. This is because the hemisphere petroglyphs are already destined to disappear from human memory within a few years when exposed to natural conditions. It would be great to stick to the original position, but all of that is now becoming a luxury empty talk. That's how desperate it is. If conservation measures are to relocate and restore petroglyphs themselves, the issue of tourism resource development will become a completely different level of discourse. This is because the meaning changes completely depending on where the exhibition hall that preserves the separated rock is built. If that happens, just as Picasso's "Gernica" lit up Manhattan's Moma (MOMA, Museum of Modern Art), this petroglyph will inevitably become the collection of the great museum in the middle of the city, loved by people around the world. The primitive is the same, the natural flow is the same! The less artificial touch you make, the greater the tourism resource you will be. Ulsan, the most economically self-reliant provincial city in Korea, and Ulsan, the cultural city that surpasses Seoul, are rushing to tour development logic while trying to restore the clear water of Cheonggye in the middle of Seoul, is the responsibility of Uchi. Development is a new step forward! Now that the paradigm of human civilization is changing to the preservation of organic life, why don't we refrain from the superficial folly of mechanical material civilization, which only gives us a bitter taste, and open our hearts and turn our heads a little softer for the great future of Ulsan, where fresh arteries flow in the 21st century? We urge Ulsan's strong Jehyeon to make wise judgments. - The article is a newspaper article by Dole