Jongmyo chosen as official symbol for 2026 UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Busan

▲ This image provided by the Korea Heritage Service shows the emblem of the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee slated for July 19-29 in the southeastern South Korean city of Busan. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo provided by the Korea Heritage Service shows a wintry scenery at the main hall of Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

World Heritage Committee-emblem

Jongmyo chosen as official symbol for 2026 UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Busan

SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- Jongmyo Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Seoul, has been selected as the official symbol for this year's session of the World Heritage Committee to be held in the South Korean port city of Busan in July, the heritage authority said Wednesday.

The emblem unveiled by the agency highlights the aesthetic and historical value of Jongmyo, the country's first site inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1995 along with Seokguram Grotto, Bulguk Temple and the Janggyeong Panjeon of Haein Temple.

Jongmyo is where the ancestral tablets of Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) kings and queens are enshrined.

The new symbol incorporates the shape and color of the tiled roof of the shrine's main hall of Jeongjeon to express "the 600-year heritage of royal rituals and traditional architecture preserved in the heart of Seoul," the Korea Heritage Service said.

The agency plans to release a promotional video for the emblem next month and develop related cultural products.

The 48th session of the World Heritage Committee, an intergovernmental body that reviews the nominations and conservation of World Heritage sites, will take place from July 19-29 at Busan's BEXCO convention center. It marks the first time South Korea has hosted such a meeting since joining the World Heritage Convention in 1988.

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