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Korea Herald
27-05-2025
- Korea Herald
N. Korea's Mount Kumgang likely to win UNESCO World Heritage status after 4-year bid
North Korea's Mount Kumgang is likely to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site following a four-year application process, according to UNESCO on Tuesday. Mount Kumgang has long been regarded as one of Korea's most scenic mountains for its breathtaking beauty that changes with the seasons. The International Council on Monuments and Sites and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which serve as advisory bodies to the World Heritage Committee, have recommended the inclusion of Mount Kumgang on the UNESCO World Heritage list, according to UNESCO. The official name submitted by North Korea is Mt. Kumgang - Diamond Mountain from the Sea. On UNESCO's website, the mountain is described as "a strikingly beautiful mountain with numerous peaks and curious rocks amounting to some 12,000, waterfalls and pools formed by crystal-like clear waters flowing from hundreds of gorges, as well as with the seascape stretched along the coastline." "Mt. Kumgang is permeated with numerous legends and cultural relics handed down through generations," it added. North Korea submitted its application for World Heritage inscription in 2021, but the site's review was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The evaluation resumed this year. North Korea is said to have initially applied for the site to be recognized as both a cultural and natural heritage site, but the advisory bodies recommended it be listed as a cultural landscape. If inscribed, it will become North Korea's third World Cultural Heritage site, following the Complex of Koguryo Tombs inscribed in 2004 and the Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong in 2013. In 2014, North Korea also had "Arirang, lyrical folk song in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" inscribed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
27-05-2025
- Korea Herald
N. Korea's Mount Kumgang likely to win UNESCO World Heritage status after 4-year bid
North Korea's Mount Kumgang is likely to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site following a four-year application process, according to UNESCO on Tuesday. Mount Kumgang has long been regarded as one of Korea's most scenic mountains for its breathtaking beauty that changes with the seasons. The International Council on Monuments and Sites and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which serve as advisory bodies to the World Heritage Committee, have recommended the inclusion of Mount Kumgang on the UNESCO World Heritage list, according to UNESCO. The official name submitted by North Korea is Mt. Kumgang - Diamond Mountain from the Sea. On UNESCO's website, the mountain is described as "a strikingly beautiful mountain with numerous peaks and curious rocks amounting to some 12,000, waterfalls and pools formed by crystal-like clear waters flowing from hundreds of gorges, as well as with the seascape stretched along the coastline." "Mt. Kumgang is permeated with numerous legends and cultural relics handed down through generations," it added. North Korea submitted its application for World Heritage inscription in 2021, but the site's review was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The evaluation resumed this year. North Korea is said to have initially applied for the site to be recognized as both a cultural and natural heritage site, but the advisory bodies recommended it be listed as a cultural landscape. If inscribed, it will become North Korea's third World Cultural Heritage site, following the Complex of Koguryo Tombs inscribed in 2004 and the Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong in 2013. In 2014, North Korea also had "Arirang, lyrical folk song in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" inscribed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. (Yonhap)
Jordan Times
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Heritage under Siege: Israeli settlement expansion threatens 4,000-year-old site in Sebastia
The significance of Sebastia goes beyond its archaeological importance, it is a living testament to Palestinian history and identity (Photo courtesy of UNESCO) AMMAN — A 4,000-year-old Palestinian archaeological site in the West Bank is under mounting threat from Israeli settlement expansion, military activity, and infrastructure projects, according to a new alert issued by International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Palestine. Sebastia, located northwest of Nablus, is one of the oldest and most significant archaeological sites in the region. Spanning the Bronze Age to the Ottoman period, it features remnants from multiple civilizations, including a Roman amphitheatre and a mosque attributed to the prophet Yahiya (John the Baptist). But the site is now at risk of cultural erasure, as Israeli authorities move forward with plans to reshape it into a Jewish heritage destination. The Israeli ministry of heritage has reportedly allocated 32 million NIS (approximately $9 million) toward developing settler-only roads, a tourist center, and military surveillance infrastructure at the site. 'These actions threaten to marginalize the local Palestinian community, undermine Sebastia's tourism sector, and destabilize its socio-economic and security conditions,' warned the ICOMOS Heritage Alert. Sebastia was added to UNESCO's Tentative List in 2012, but experts now fear it may be severed from its Palestinian context altogether. A proposed Israeli Knesset bill seeks to extend the jurisdiction of the Israeli Antiquities Authority into the West Bank, while a recent military order aims to seize land at the summit of Tell Sebastia. 'The occupation army and settlers, accompanied by archaeologists, are constantly invading and preventing Palestinian officials from conducting any restoration,' said Shireen Allan, president of ICOMOS Palestine, in an interview with The Jordan Times. She added that Palestinian archaeologists are regularly blocked from access, unable to perform conservation or respond to looting. The fragmentation of the site stems from the 1995 Oslo Accords, which placed the town of Sebastia under Palestinian civil control while leaving the archaeological zone under full Israeli authority. Today, around 80 per cent of the historic site is inaccessible to Palestinians, Allan said. The ICOMOS report contends that such actions violate several international laws protecting cultural heritage in occupied territories, including the 1907 Hague Regulations, the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and the 1954 Hague Convention. Under these agreements, occupying powers are forbidden from altering cultural sites and are obligated to support preservation efforts by local authorities. 'Israel has consistently failed to uphold its obligations as an occupying power,' the report states, citing Sebastia as a prominent example. ICOMOS is now calling for Sebastia to be placed under Enhanced Protection under the Second Protocol of the 1954 Hague Convention, which would provide stronger legal safeguards against alteration or destruction. The organisation also urged international donors and cultural institutions to provide emergency technical and financial support to counter what it calls an 'escalating campaign of cultural re-appropriation.' More than a collection of ruins, Sebastia is described by preservationists as a living testament to Palestinian identity. Its loss, they argue, would be a blow not only to local heritage but to global history.
Observer
19-04-2025
- Observer
Oman to showcase rich cultural legacy today
The Sultanate of Oman will be showcasing its rich cultural heritage and civilisational legacy on World Heritage Day (WHD), an occasion established by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) to raise awareness about the value of cultural heritage and the urgent need to protect it from natural and human-induced threats. The event will be held on Sunday. Every year on April 18, the world celebrates WHD and this year's theme is 'Heritage under Threat from Disasters and Conflicts: Preparedness and Learning from 60 years of ICOMOS Actions.' Oman joins this global celebration with the deep conviction that heritage is not just a remnant of the past, but a bridge connecting generations, grounding national identity and shaping a sustainable future, according to the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism. 'Oman has its own unique identity in terms of culture, heritage and language. Oman's language is present everywhere and deeply ingrained. The heritage and culture of Oman are not just owned, but lived; they are felt in the pulse of daily life,' a spokesperson from the MoHT said. Throughout history, the Sultanate of Oman has held a significant place on the map of Arabia as a vibrant crossroads where caravans converged, stories were woven and cities rose from stone and soil, pulsing with wisdom and life. This legacy lives on in architecture that tells the tales of its builders, not just through beauty, but through purpose. Ancient systems passed through generations, aflaj waters that seem to pause time, the aroma of morning coffee, silent cooperation and gatherings built on kindness.
