Korea to Deploy AI Commentary and Patrol Robots at Royal Palaces

Heo Min, head of the Korea Heritage Service, announced at a National Assembly audit that AI-guided commentary services and patrol robots will be introduced at Korean royal palaces and tombs. The AI commentary service is currently being built, starting with Gyeongbokgung Palace this year, according to zdnet.co.kr.

The commentary service is planned to expand to other palaces, Jongmyo Shrine and Joseon royal tombs by 2027. A separate AI patrol robot called 'Sunra Bot' is being prepared for a first pilot introduction after on-site testing.

Heo also said efforts will be made to inscribe Korean paper culture, hanji, as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in December.

In November, he added, the Danwon High School 4.16 Archive, Suun Japbang and Eumsikdimibang will be listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific register.

Heo further announced plans to strengthen research and development support for advanced preservation technology and climate change response.

Earlier visitor and damage figures

In the previous year, domestic visitors to palaces and tombs exceeded 17.81 million, a record high, including 4.27 million foreign visitors. Heritage disaster damage cases fell from 84 in that year to 34 as of September this year, following measures that included 24-hour operation of a disaster safety situation room and CCTV AI monitoring.