Jeonju Cultural Heritage Foundation (Representative Director Choi Rak-gi) and Imsil County have successfully reproduced the oldest copy of "Unsuji Eulmyobon" in the traditional way, located in Sachan-eup, Imsil-hyun during the Joseon Dynasty.

"Unsuji Eulmyobon" was first compiled in 1675 as a Sachan-eup record of Imsil-hyun, detailing the origin, changes, and administrative system of "Unsu" which was the alias of Imsil at that time, making it a valuable historical document.

Among the Sachan geographical records of Jeolla Province, it is the second oldest after "Seungpyeongji" in Suncheon in 1618, and is evaluated as a record of high academic value showing the characteristics of Sachan-eup in Jeolla Province in the 17th century, along with "Yongseongji" in Namwon in 1699.

In the process of designating the cultural heritage of Eulmyobon, Imsil County decided to make a reproduction for the preservation and utilization of the original, and the Jeonju Cultural Heritage Foundation cooperated in this endeavor. Kim Il-soo, a holder of intangible cultural heritage designated by Jeollabuk-do and residing in Imsil, participated in the traditional paper-making for the reproduction.

The foundation conducted a precise analysis of the original in a non-destructive manner, digitized it through image scanning, and completed the reproduction through color correction and plate image production. Especially when refining the text, they edited based on the "pansimje" (title on the inner margin of old books), and restored it as closely as possible by removing original damage factors like discoloration. (*Pansimje: A title or volume number indicated on the inner margin (pansim) when opening a book or woodblock print. It serves a similar function to modern page numbers.)

The reproduction used traditional paper separately made by Kim Il-soo, and the printing technique applied specialized methods based on traditional practices. The cover and binding were thread-bound in a restoration method reflecting the current state of the original. (*Thread-binding: A bookbinding method where threads are threaded through holes on one side of the book and tied.)

The reproduction was delivered to Imsil County through the Jeonju Cultural Heritage Foundation, and the county plans to actively incorporate it into future plans for the designation of cultural heritage and the utilization of local historical assets.

Choi Rak-gi, the representative director of the Jeonju Cultural Heritage Foundation, stated, "This reproduction work goes beyond a simple document reproduction, presenting a new possibility for cultural heritage preservation," and announced, "Starting with Imsil's 'Unsuji,' we plan to sequentially reproduce other major Sachan-eup records in Jeolla Province such as Jeonju's 'Wansanji,' Namwon's 'Yongseongji,' and Suncheon's 'Seungpyeongji.'"

Meanwhile, the reproduced "Unsuji Eulmyobon" is scheduled to be publicly available in Imsil County in the latter half of this year.