▲ This image, provided by the Cultural Heritage Administration, shows the Hoeamsa Temple Site in Yangju, listed on the World Heritage Tentative List. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, Dec. 2 (YoCHAp) -- In response to evolving international trends surrounding UNESCO World Heritage designations, South Korea is set to revise its approach to selecting candidate sites for inscription.

 

The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) announced on Monday that it plans to implement a "Preliminary Tentative List" system, as reported during a recent meeting of the World Heritage Subcommittee under the Cultural Heritage Committee.

 

To qualify for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, sites must first be placed on a tentative list. This list, submitted by each nation to the World Heritage Committee, identifies sites deemed to possess outstanding universal value worthy of eventual World Heritage designation.

 

South Korea’s current tentative list includes 13 sites, such as the Gangjin kiln sites, Seoraksan natural reserve, Namhae dinosaur fossil sites, the Hoeamsa Temple site in Yangju, and the Heritage of Busan as a Wartime Capital during the Korean War.

 

While serving as the initial gateway to World Heritage recognition, the existing tentative list system has faced criticism for its dependence on applications from local governments, making it difficult to encompass a wide range of heritage categories.

 

The CHA noted that the current bottom-up approach needs supplementation to strategically and sustainably pursue World Heritage inscriptions. Consequently, the new Preliminary Tentative List system aims to identify a broader array of potential sites.

 

The initiative will prioritize underrepresented categories, including modern heritage, natural heritage, and cultural landscapes, which have received comparatively less attention in the international arena. Selected sites will undergo heightened management and consideration for eventual inclusion on the tentative list.

 

To support this effort, the CHA plans to conduct a comprehensive survey in 2024 to identify heritage suitable for the Preliminary Tentative List.

 

An CHA representative explained, “Although research projects have previously been conducted to discover new tentative list candidates, this initiative represents a direct effort to uncover potential sites and provide active support to local governments.”

 

The CHA also intends to reexamine sites currently on the tentative list. UNESCO guidelines for implementing the World Heritage Convention recommend that tentative lists be reviewed and updated at least once every ten years.

 

As part of this process, sites that have seen no progress toward inscription since their inclusion may be removed from the list. Local governments have recently been notified of this policy update.

 

The CHA stated that it aims to expand and refine the tentative list through the Preliminary Tentative List system. By reassessing the outstanding universal value (OUV) and conservation measures of listed sites, it seeks to strategically advance World Heritage inscriptions.

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