Bangucheon carvings likely to be named World Heritage Site
Prehistoric carvings located at Bangu Stream in Ulju, Ulsan, may be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, pending approval at a UN body's annual committee meeting in July.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites, which advises the 21-member World Heritage Committee, recommended that the committee name the Petroglyphs along Bangu Stream a UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to the Korea Heritage Service on Monday.
'The committee will most likely uphold that recommendation when it meets in July in Paris,' a Korea Heritage Service official said of the 11-day annual committee meeting that will start July 6.
The petroglyphs '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 petroglyphs preserve the history of a rock carving culture that spanned some 6,000 years from prehistoric times, demonstrating the 'cultural advancement by the people from southeastern coastlines of the Korean Peninsula,' ICOMOS said in its assessment.
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