Culture News

Busan heritage session ends: 25 new sites, three first-timers and six more 'in danger'

The 48th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee closed in Busan on July 29 after ten days at the BEXCO convention centre, the first time South Korea had hosted it. The Korea Times said the committee approved 25 new listings and two major expansions, and that South Sudan, Comoros and São Tomé and Príncipe received their first World Heritage sites.

The session also lengthened the List of World Heritage in Danger. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that three existing sites were added because of war and related pressures: Chersonese in Crimea, Tyre in Lebanon and the historic centre of Paramaribo in Suriname. Three new sites went straight onto the Danger list by emergency procedure: South Sudan's Boma-Badingilo migratory landscape, Sebastia in Palestine and the castles of Mount Amel in Lebanon. The paper said Russia protested the Chersonese decision as political, while Israel and Lebanon traded blame over Tyre.

For the host, the headline was its own coast: the second phase of “Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats” adds mudflats in Yeosu, Goheung, Muan and Seosan, protecting 216 migratory bird species. Members also adopted a Busan Declaration on threats such as climate change and conflict.

“Collaboration should be recognized as the sixth C of the World Heritage system” — Huh Min, Korea Heritage Service, via The Korea Times

How each outlet framed it

• The Korea Times — a successful first hosting: tidal flats, a declaration and big crowds.
• Kyunghyang Shinmun — heritage under fire, with the diplomatic rows in the room.
• Wanderlust — a travel guide to the new names, led by small nations' firsts.

Where the numbers differ: The Korea Times counts about 3,000 delegates; Kyunghyang says 3,111 people from 162 countries had registered by July 23. Wanderlust gives 25 new properties but a breakdown (six natural, 19 cultural, one mixed) that adds up to 26.