The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced that it will be the first local government to apply aerial photography using drones to conduct roof inspections for the efficient and safe maintenance of hanok buildings starting this year.

This is seen as an improvement to the previous method of conducting roof inspections where handymen had to precariously climb the roof to take photographs. From now, the city will fly drones above hanok buildings to effectively and safely conduct inspections and take detailed photographs of the entire roof to analyze the condition of roof and tiles from various angles and positions.

This public service will be beneficial not only to the technicians on the job, but also hanok homeowners who need domestic repairs for issues such as roof leaks as the collected aerial photograph data taken from various angles will be able to accurately identify problems and provide a thorough diagnosis of the condition inside the house and on the roof. Starting this year, the city will make this drone inspection service available to any hanok homeowner who files a request via the Seoul Hanok Support Center (online/offline) for roof leaks and other problems.

For the sustainable preservation of nearly 8,000 hanok buildings in Seoul, the city has been operating the Seoul Hanok Support Center since 2015 to provide hanok inspection and maintenance services, which sees over 200 on-site visits per year in response to citizens’ requests for inspection as well as consultation for maintenance and repairs. With more than 50% of inspection requests related to roof tiles, it is expected that this drone inspection service will serve as an opportunity to drastically improve the maintenance of hanok buildings in Seoul.

Seoul plans to continue operating the Seoul Hanok Support Center to provide citizens with hanok maintenance information and services through the newly introduced drone inspection service, and the collected photographs are expected to be used as valuable data to archive and promote the architectural development of Seoul.