The main archive center was launched in 2016. As you may remember, Jeong Yak-jeon, who wrote “Jasan Eobo” while in exile on Heuksando Island in the late Joseon Dynasty, passed away in 1816, marking the 200th anniversary of his death. The question of what the study of fish by an intellectual who lived in the late Joseon Dynasty would mean to history has always stuck in my mind. The archive center is conducting the archiving of basic data to find out the meaning of marine and fisheries in East Asian civilization.

  The primary object of archiving is fisheries-related data in history, and the secondary object is expanding to the entire marine area. For the past few years, in connection with the CORE and HK+ business groups of Pukyong National University, we have investigated and archived modern fisheries data and marine data from Northeast Asia waters held in the Pukyong National University Library. Based on these achievements, an exhibition called 「Formation and Conflict of Modern Northeast Asian Sea Water Network」 was held in 2019. In addition, we published three 'Korea Maritime and Fisheries Archive Collection' series, starting with the 「Korea Maritime and Fisheries Archive Collection」 and the 「Formation of the Donghae Network」 and the Urban Landscape」.

  Starting with the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute and the Busan Metropolitan Library located in Busan, I would like to gradually expand the scope of my research to the whole of Korea. In particular, we plan to archive a wider range of data from ancient times to modern times, beyond Korea to East Asia, and make it a major feature of this archive center. Despite these wishes, the archive center still has a long way to go and is not capable of doing so. I will take it step by step with a long breath. If you remember an intellectual who was exiled to the South Sea 200 years ago, please give us a small support at a long distance.