UNESCO adds 25 World Heritage sites at historic Busan meeting
Visitors line up to enter the “K-Heritage House” public exhibition held to commemorate the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at BEXO, Busan, Sunday. Yonhap
The 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee concluded Wednesday in Busan after nearly two weeks of diplomatic and cultural deliberations, adding 25 new sites to the World Heritage List and drawing tens of thousands of visitors to its side events.
The gathering at BEXCO, which began July 19, marked the first time Korea has hosted the international committee.
According to organizers, approximately 3,000 delegates representing 196 member countries attended the proceedings in person. Concurrently, the “K-Heritage House” public exhibition hall at BEXCO drew more than 120,000 visitors, highlighting public interest in heritage preservation and cultural experiences.
Out of 33 agenda items submitted for review, the committee adopted 28 by consensus — approving 25 new listings, two major site expansions and one criteria modification.
Notable additions included Greece’s Mount Olympus region, France’s 1944 Normandy Landing Beaches, Japan’s ancient capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara, and the Roças of São Tomé and Príncipe.
The session marked historic milestones, including the first World Heritage listings for South Sudan, Comoros and São Tomé and Príncipe. Three properties — South Sudan’s Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape, Palestine’s Sebastiya and Lebanon’s Mount Amel Castles — were inscribed World Heritage in Danger
Delegates to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee board the “Joseon Tongsinsa” (diplomatic mission) ship during a cultural heritage event at Yongho Port in Busan, Sunday. Documents related to the Joseon Tongsinsa missions were jointly inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register by Korea and Japan in 2017. Yonhap
The committee also approved two major site expansions: Germany’s Berlin Modernism Housing Estates and Phase 2 of Korea’s “Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats.” The Korean expansion incorporates coastal mudflats in Yeosu, Goheung and Muan in South Jeolla Province and Seosan and South Chungcheong Province creating a unified sanctuary that protects 216 migratory bird species and vital marine biodiversity.
This expanded protection directly reflects UNESCO’s newly adopted Strategic Objective of “Collaboration” — the “sixth C” joining Credibility, Conservation, Capacity-Building, Communication and Communities.
Member states unanimously adopted the framework in the “Busan Declaration” to safeguard global heritage against emerging threats like climate change and regional conflict.
Reading from the declaration at BEXCO on July 20, Korea Heritage Service Administrator Huh Min emphasized that traditional objectives are no longer sufficient on their own.
“Collaboration should be recognized as the sixth C of the World Heritage system … The present context of multiple and growing interconnected global challenges presents complex and cross-cutting issues that the existing five strategic objectives, when pursued in isolation, are not sufficient to address,” Huh said.
Following the inscription of the expanded tidal flats, Huh issued a joint statement alongside UNESCO partners outlining a commitment to regional stewardship.
“We express our shared commitment to work together to strengthen the long-term conservation and effective management of the relevant World Heritage properties and to advance the understanding and promotion of the ecological connectivity of the Yellow Sea habitats, including through shared science, monitoring and data.”
