Kumgangsan likely to be named World Heritage Site

Korea Herald

27-05-2025

Debate rekindled over two Koreas' efforts to see shared heritage recognized
The northern part of Kumgangsan, a vast mountain range along Korea's eastern coast spanning North and South Korea, is likely to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July.
The UN body's advisers — the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and International Union for Conservation of Nature — have asked the World Heritage Committee to greenlight their recommendation at an annual meeting to be held in July in Paris.
In the latest update Tuesday, UNESCO disclosed an evaluation by the two bodies, saying 'Mount Kumgang is a sacred mountain and bears an exceptional testimony to Korean mountain Buddhism traditions from the 5th century CE to the present.'
North Korea unilaterally sought Kumgangsan's listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site four years ago.
Kumgangsan, which UNESCO officially refers to as "Mt. Kumgang — Diamond Mountain from the Sea," "exhibits an exceptionally rich diversity of distinctive near-white granite geomorphology, dramatically set within pristine biodiversity as seasons change," according to the agency.
UNESCO said the mountain, renowned for its striking beauty, will be a "cultural landscape" or "mixed site," which is one of the three labels given to World Heritage Sites, with the other two being cultural and natural sites. North Korea had initially sought to have the mountain named both a cultural site and a natural site.
A cultural landscape, UNESCO said, is a place "where the interaction between humans and nature has, over time, shaped a unique and distinctive landscape, carrying significant cultural values." The world body has been designating cutural landscapes since 1992.
While Kumgangsan's highest peak sits in North Korea, the mountain range stretches southward to Gangwon Province in South Korea, raising questions as to why a joint enlistment by the two Koreas was not sought.
In 2018, "ssireum," or traditional wrestling, was jointly listed by the two Koreas as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the first such shared listing across various UNESCO designations.
At this point, such a joint designation appears unlikely, according to a South Korean government official familiar with the matter.
"Once the Paris meeting in July approves the recommendation, there is little we can do on our end to float a joint inscription," the official said, referring to the 21-member World Heritage Committee meeting. Any ongoing interagency coordination for such efforts is close to nonexistent, the official added.
South Korea is also likely to see a new entry approved at the meeting from July 6-16.
Prehistoric carvings located at Bangu Stream in Ulju, Ulsan, have been recommended by ICOMOS for UNESCO status, a preliminary decision unlikely to see major opposition, according to officials at the Korea Heritage Service.
The Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream 'manifest the artistry of the people that had lived in the Korean Peninsula,' a work of creative art that focused on rare topics such as whale hunting, the KHS quoted ICOMOS as saying in its decision.
The rock carvings demonstrate the 'cultural advancement by the people from southeastern coastlines of the Korean Peninsula,' ICOMOS said in its assessment.