Busan: Scores of heritage professionals from around the world gathered in South Korea on Thursday for a forum on safeguarding UNESCO World Heritage sites, organizers said, as the country prepares to host a major global heritage meeting later this month.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Heritage Service and the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced that the eighth World Heritage Site Managers' Forum will run through next Thursday across Busan and the nearby cities of Gyeongju, Ulsan, and Gimhae. This event is organized in cooperation with UNESCO's World Heritage Center, the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The forum serves as one of the official pre-events for the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee, scheduled for July 19-29 in Busan, located about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul. This marks the first time South Korea is hosting the meeting since it joined the World Heritage Convention in 1988.
Approximately 80 World Heritage site managers and experts from around the globe will gather to discuss their countries' systems for heritage conservation and management, as well as share experiences with international cooperation. The forum, titled "Connection and Communication: participatory approaches to managing World Heritage," will provide a platform for these discussions.
Throughout the program, attendees will participate in field visits. On Friday, they are scheduled to tour Yangdong Village and Oksan Seowon in Gyeongju, along with the Bangudae Petroglyphs, known for their prehistoric rock carvings along a stream in suburban Ulsan. Participants will also visit key historic excavation sites in Gyeongju on Monday before concluding the event with a trip to a tomb cluster from Korea's ancient confederation Gaya in Gimhae.
An official from the research institute expressed that the forum would serve as an opportunity for South Korea to strengthen its role in global heritage conservation and expand international cooperation.