▲ Muan Tidal Flat
The tidal flats along the southwestern coast of South Korea are expected to be additionally inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
According to the National Heritage Administration, the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is holding a meeting today (the 25th) at BEXCO in Busan to decide on the Phase 2 inscription of "Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats."
The inscription review is expected to take place around this morning or noon.
Inscription is practically guaranteed, as it received a "recommendation" for expansion last month from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the advisory body on natural heritage for the World Heritage Committee.
The areas to be added this time are the tidal flats of Seosan in South Chungcheong Province, and Yeosu, Goheung, and Muan in South Jeolla Province.
These tidal flats will be added to the Seocheon, Gochang, Shinan, and Boseong-Suncheon tidal flats, which were inscribed as World Heritage sites in 2021, thereby expanding the scope and targets of the heritage site.
Once the expanded inscription is completed, the Korean Tidal Flats will consist of the Boseong-Suncheon-Yeosu-Goheung tidal flat, the Shinan-Muan Tandoman tidal flat, the Muan Hamhaeman tidal flat, the Gochang tidal flat, the Seocheon tidal flat, and the Seosan tidal flat.
This marks the first time that South Korea is undertaking "significant modifications to the boundaries" to substantially revise the borders of a World Heritage site.
Even for already inscribed heritage sites, significantly expanding or reducing their zones requires going through a review process identical to that of a new inscription.
After reviewing the Phase 2 inscription of the Korean Tidal Flats, the IUCN stated that "they meet the heritage criteria, integrity, and protection and management requirements under the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention."
The Korean Tidal Flats are home to some 2,400 species of life, including endangered migratory birds.
They also serve as an intermediate stopover along the migratory bird flyway connecting East Asia and Australasia, and contribute to the preservation of irreplaceable migratory bird habitats.
The Korean Tidal Flats World Heritage Promotion Group emphasized, "Tidal flats are a phenomenal cradle of life where humans and nature coexist, and they are a precious heritage of all humanity to be faithfully preserved and passed down to the future."
Even if the expanded inscription succeeds, challenges remain.
Major tidal flats in the Incheon and Gyeonggi regions, including the Ganghwa tidal flat—which is a breeding ground for the natural monument black-faced spoonbill—as well as the Jangbongdo and Songdo tidal flats, were not included this time.
Around BEXCO, where the World Heritage Committee meeting is taking place, press conferences by civic groups continued, calling for a swift push for Phase 3 inscription to strengthen the protection system for the tidal flat heritage.
During its recommendation for inscription, the IUCN also advised to "make efforts to further analyze tidal flats possessing potential 'Outstanding Universal Value' (OUV) in the future and secure the support of local communities."
In addition to the tidal flats, the committee plans to review other World Heritage candidates submitted by various countries today.
China's "Jingdezhen Traditional Porcelain Industry Sites," Mongolia's "Burial Sites of the Xiongnu Elite," and the United States' "Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge" are among those bidding for inscription.
Attention is also focused on whether Comoros, an island nation off East Africa, will successfully inscribe its first World Heritage site in Busan with the "Medina of the Ancient Sultanates of Comoros."
World Heritage sites are determined by reviewing properties of outstanding universal value that need to be protected for all humanity under the World Heritage Convention adopted in 1972.
South Korea currently holds a total of 17 World Heritage sites, beginning with "Seokguk-am Grotto and Bulguk-sa Temple," "Tripitaka Koreana Woodblock Depository at Haein-sa Temple," and "Jongmyo Shrine" in 1995, up to "Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream" last year.
Next year, "Capital Ramparts of Hanyang," built to defend Hanyang, the capital of the Joseon Dynasty, will bid to become the 18th World Heritage site.
(Photo courtesy of Korean Tidal Flats World Heritage Promotion Group, Yonhap News)
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