Busan: The upcoming UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Busan will serve as a national heritage festival, heritage authorities announced, with various side events planned to engage global visitors.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee will be held in Busan, approximately 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from July 19-29. This marks the first time South Korea has hosted the meeting since joining the World Heritage Convention in 1988. The gathering is expected to attract around 3,000 participants from its 196 member states, in addition to international organizations and non-governmental entities. The committee will deliberate on matters related to the inscription, conservation, and management of World Heritage sites.

The Korea Heritage Service has announced that it will operate a "Korea Pavilion" at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO), the venue of the meeting. In addition to this, various side events will take place across the city, featuring exhibitions, immersive media installations, and film screenings aimed at highlighting the value of Korea's World Heritage sites and broadening public access to traditional culture.

A total of 35 institutions will manage 45 exhibition and hands-on booths at the pavilion, offering programs centered on the national cultural heritage. Among the main displays is a themed exhibition on "Korea and UNESCO," which will introduce 17 World Heritage sites in South Korea, including Hwaseong Fortress, Namhansanseong, and Sansa, the Buddhist mountain monasteries, as well as Korean sites on the tentative list.

An immersive media art exhibition titled "Heritage: Timeless Time" will feature a 9-meter-tall media installation designed to present Korean heritage in a large-scale visual format. Additional exhibits will include a space dedicated to Yeongsanjae, a Buddhist ritual inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, and a pavilion hosted by the Busan metropolitan government.

Outside BEXCO, the Busan Cinema Center, which hosts the annual Busan International Film Festival, will screen travel-themed films featuring UNESCO World Heritage sites. The Busan Museum will also hold a special exhibition examining the historical significance of documentary heritage, featuring items from UNESCO's Memory of the World register and Korea's royal archives.