Hosting its first UNESCO World Heritage Committee, Korea calls for global solidarity on heritage protection, showcasing its own traditions amid global rise of K-culture
BUSAN — For the first time since joining the World Heritage Convention in 1988, South Korea will host the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, bringing one of the world’s largest gatherings on cultural and natural heritage to Busan.
More than 3,000 delegates from the convention’s 196 states are expected to attend the 48th session, which runs from Monday to July 29, following an opening ceremony Sunday. Lee Byong-hyun, former South Korean ambassador to UNESCO, will chair the meeting.
The committee, UNESCO’s principal decision-making body on world heritage, is made up of representatives from 21 elected member states and meets annually to oversee implementation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention. To date, it has inscribed 1,248 cultural and natural sites across 170 countries on the World Heritage List.
During this year’s session, members will review the state of conservation of already inscribed sites and consider priority measures to ensure their preservation, and also examine nominations for the inscription of 30 new sites, as well as proposals concerning three sites already listed. The committee will also discuss institutional, financial and procedural matters, including international assistance and preparations for the next session.
In a previous interview with The Korea Herald, Korea Heritage Service Administrator Huh Min said Korea hopes to use the meeting not only to showcase its commitment to protecting world heritage, but also to present a new vision for international cooperation in the face of mounting threats such as armed conflict, climate change and other crises.
As host, Korea plans to propose the “Busan Declaration” calling for stronger international collaboration in protecting world heritage. The declaration is expected to urge UNESCO to expand its “5C” strategic objectives — credibility, conservation, capacity-building, communication and communities — by adding a sixth principle: collaboration. The proposal underscores that safeguarding humanity’s shared heritage requires collective international action.
Chairperson Lee echoed the message that “the world confronts ‘multiple challenges’ including climate change and rapid technological transformation driven by artificial intelligence.”
“World heritage represents a priceless and irreplaceable asset for all of humanity,” said Lee. “Grounded in a spirit of collaboration and solidarity, I look forward to the 48th session serving as a starting point for strengthening capacity-building and advancing governance in response to these emerging challenges.”
Cultural festival at K-Heritage House
The committee also comes at a moment when global interest in Korean culture is at an unprecedented level.
As Korean films, drama series and K-pop continue to find global audiences, they are also leading viewers back to the country’s cultural heritage, where many of their stories, aesthetics and traditions originate.
Growing fascination is increasingly reflected in tourism trends. Government surveys show that, after Korean popular culture, traditional culture has become the second-leading reason international visitors travel to Korea. Last year, a record-breaking 17.8 million foreign tourists visited royal palaces, Jongmyo Shrine and the royal tombs of the Joseon era, while this spring’s edition of K-Royal Culture Festival drew its largest crowds ever, including a record number of overseas visitors.
“K-heritage is the foundation of K-culture. Traditional heritage lies at the heart of every aspect of the Korean Wave,” Administrator Huh said.
Reflecting that idea, the committee will extend well beyond conference rooms.
Throughout the session, the K-Heritage House — an exhibition space roughly twice the size of a soccer field — will feature 35 participating organizations across 45 booths, offering performances, exhibitions, craft demonstrations and culinary experiences that showcase the breadth of Korean heritage.
“This committee will transform into a festival-like atmosphere, unlike anything seen at previous World Heritage Committee sessions, offering a wealth of attractions and experiences where participants from around the world can immerse themselves in K-heritage, K-culture and K-food through all five senses,” said Huh.
Details on programs and schedules are available on the official website of the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
Intangible heritage through music, dance
The National Intangible Heritage Center will present “Hexagram 22” on July 23 and 24, offering a contemporary reinterpretation of Korea’s National Intangible Heritage.
The performance brings together a range of traditional art forms, including piri jeongak (court music featuring the bamboo flute), daechwita (royal military marching music), taepyeongmu (dance of peace), geumbakjang (the traditional craft of gold leaf imprinting), seodo sori (folk songs from Korea’s northwestern regions of Pyeongan and Hwanghae) and Jongmyo Jeryeak (royal ancestral ritual music).
Through music, dance and visual elements, the performance offers new ways of exploring the country’s cultural heritage. Traditional motifs that have gained global recognition through works such as Netflix hit series “Kingdom” and film “KPop Demon Hunters” will be reimagined for the stage, including the traditional hat known as gat, shamanic rituals known as gut and lion dances.
The cultural program will continue with “Good to Go in Busan,” scheduled for July 26 at 7:30 p.m., featuring UNESCO-listed intangible cultural heritage, Busan’s local traditions and the distinctive artistry of singer Jang Sa-ik. An outdoor performance will also be held on July 25 at 6 p.m.
Visitors who cannot make it to these performances can still experience Korean traditional arts at K-Heritage Stage, a venue at K-Heritage House set up throughout the committee session from July 20-29.
The stage will feature traditional music, dance and performances every day from 1 p.m., offering visitors an opportunity to explore the diversity and beauty of living heritage.
Visitors can catch a glimpse of Joseon’s royal court in Busan as traditional palace rituals are brought back to life.
The grandeur of the royal court will be on display through performances of the royal palace guard changing ceremony (9:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m.) and “A Walk With the Royal Family” program (1 p.m., 4 p.m.), which will be held twice daily throughout the event.
The gate-opening ceremony recreates the traditional duties of the “sumunjang,” the guards responsible for protecting the entrances to royal palaces during the Joseon era (1392-1910). The ceremony is a long-running cultural reenactment usually held at Gyeongbokgung in Seoul.
The sumunjang system dates back to 1461, when the guards first appeared in records during the reign of King Sejo. The position became an official royal post in 1469, during the reign of King Yejong. Tasked with guarding the entrances to the palace and the capital, the sumunjang played a vital role.
The opening ceremony of K-Heritage House will begin at 9:20 a.m. on July 20. The guards will march to the entrance of K-Heritage House accompanied by ceremonial drums and “chwita,” traditional Korean royal military music, before officially opening the venue.
Another highlight, the Joseon Tongsinsa Parade Reenactment, will take place on July 26 at 6 p.m. at Bexco’s outdoor plaza. The street performance brings to life the historic journey of the Joseon Tongsinsa, a diplomatic mission that symbolized cultural exchange between Korea and Japan during the Joseon era.
Royal records reunited in Busan
Joseon was a trove of archives. For more than five centuries, the royal court documented nearly every aspect of state and court life: government affairs, diplomatic missions, royal ceremonies and even the daily words and actions of its kings.
Those records became the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, or “Joseon Wangjo Sillok.” Compiled after each king’s reign, the records span 472 years, from King Taejo, founder of Joseon, to King Cheoljong, and are recognized on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.
To ensure their survival, court officials initially stored copies in four state repositories — one at the royal court and three in the provinces. After most were destroyed during the Imjin War (1592-1598), only the copy preserved in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, survived. Mountain repositories were later established to safeguard newly reproduced editions deep in remote valleys. Those archives continued to be tested by war, fire, colonial rule and national division.
Now, after centuries of separation, the chronicles are reunited in Busan.
The special exhibition, “Timeless Legacy: Records and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty,” organized jointly by the Busan Museum and the National Palace Museum of Korea, marks the first-ever display bringing together all four surviving editions of the Veritable Records.
Visitors can also see King Yeongjo of the 18th century and King Cheoljong of the 19th century in the only surviving royal portraits, or “eojin,” with their faces largely intact. Many eojin were evacuated to Busan during the Korean War, but were later destroyed or severely damaged in fire.
The exhibition at the Busan Museum runs through Aug. 30 and is open free of charge daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., barring Mondays.
