National Treasure (South Korea)

National Treasure is a national-level designation within the heritage preservation system of South Korea for tangible objects of significant artistic, cultural, and historical value. Examples of objects include art, artifacts, sites, or buildings. It is administered by the Korea Heritage Service. Additions to the list are decided by the Cultural Heritage Committee.
Many of the registered items are popular tourist attractions for South Korea. Examples include Jongmyo, Bulguksa, Seokguram, and the Tripitaka Koreana at Haeinsa. As of December 2020, there are 348 distinct entries on the list, some composed of a large number of sub-entries. The treasures are numbered according to the order in which they were designated, not according to their individual value.

History

The first list of Korean cultural treasures was designated by Governor-General of Korea in 1938 during the Japanese occupation under the "Chōsen Treasures Act".
In 1955, the South Korean government declared as National Treasures the items previously on the Korean Treasures Preservation Order issued during Japan's occupation of Korea. The current list dates to December 20, 1962, when the Cultural Protection Act was enacted by the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction. There were 116 items on the "National Treasures" list at that time, with others designated as "Treasures".
On November 19, 2021, the Cultural Heritage Administration removed the numbering system for all of its designations, including National Treasures.