The 48th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, held in Busan for the first time in Korea, concluded after setting record-breaking figures in both expert sessions and public events.
According to the Korea Heritage Service on the 30th, the Busan World Heritage Committee selected Istanbul, Türkiye, as the venue for the next session on the 28th, and then adopted its final decisions on the 29th, wrapping up its official schedule and concluding an 11-day journey. The Korea Heritage Service said the session "closed successfully as the largest in history."
In the expert session area, the opening ceremony of the World Heritage Committee held on the 19th was attended by around 1,000 people, including President Lee Jae-myung and UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany. In his congratulatory address that day, President Lee stressed the importance of international cooperation through culture in an era of conflict and division, and emphasized that Korea would lead cooperation with the "power of culture" espoused by Kim Koo, whose 150th birth anniversary falls this year.
This session recorded the largest number of participants ever, with 3,140 people from a total of 162 countries registering, including 25 ministerial-level figures. In particular, Comoros President Azali Assoumani visited Korea to celebrate his country's first World Heritage inscription (the Medina of the Old Sultanates of Comoros). This marked the first time in the history of the World Heritage Committee that a sitting head of state attended the committee in person.
In addition, a total of 367 domestic and international media participants registered for coverage.
The programs for participants were also diverse. A total of 31 tour programs, including the "Busan Heritage Field Trip" for experiencing the beauty of World Heritage, and 61 side events covering Kim Koo's vision of a cultural powerhouse and the preservation of the Yellow Sea tidal flats through cross-border cooperation, proceeded without major disruptions.
Two preliminary forums held ahead of the main session also received favorable reviews. The "Young Experts Forum," in which 31 people from 29 countries participated, began on July 13 and adopted and announced a declaration at the committee's main session on the 20th, containing measures for community- and people-centered World Heritage preservation and management, as well as substantive youth participation and capacity building in areas such as education and research, before concluding its schedule on the 21st.
The "Site Managers Forum," in which 74 field practitioners from 45 countries participated, also began on July 16 and adopted and announced a declaration at the committee's main session on the 21st, expressing a commitment to community-centered inclusive heritage management and sustainable preservation, before wrapping up its schedule on the 23rd.
The programs for the general public were also assessed as successful. The "Korea Pavilion," built at Busan's BEXCO to the size of two soccer fields, featured 35 institutions operating 45 experience booths, and a total of 137,422 visitors experienced the value of K-Heritage over 10 days.
The cultural products (K-Heritage) pop-up store set up on-site recorded total sales of 2.8 billion won during the same period, and 382 commemorative coins sold in a limited three-day sale were also sold. Three special performances, including "Sanhwabi" and "Gutborrogaja," staged at the BEXCO Auditorium, recorded sold-out audiences.
The Korea Heritage Service said, "Based on the international standing and experience built as the chair country of this 48th World Heritage Committee, we plan to further solidify our leadership in the World Heritage field going forward," adding, "To ensure that the 'Busan Declaration,' drafted and adopted under Korea's leadership, produces concrete and substantive outcomes, we plan to work closely with relevant institutions to pursue follow-up projects such as hosting the '(tentatively named) Busan World Heritage Forum.'"
