Busan is good

Sites of the Wartime Capital Busan Take One Step Closer to UNESCO World Heritage Listing Selected for the “Priority World Heritage List” by the Korea Heritage Service

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that on the 13th, Sites of the Wartime Capital was selected for the “Priority World Heritage List” by the Korea Heritage Service.

The Sites of the Wartime Capital (hereafter “Wartime Heritage”) was officially added to the UNESCO Tentative World Heritage List on May 16, 2023, marking the first inscription of a modern heritage in Korea. Last year (2024), Busan first applied for inclusion in the Priority List, but the application was deferred once.

At 2 p.m. on the 13th, during the World Heritage Subcommittee meeting of the Korea Heritage Service’s Cultural Heritage Committee (hereafter “the Committee”), Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Lee Jun-seung personally delivered the presentation for the Priority List selection. He strongly emphasized Busan’s commitment to inscription and preservation, addressing in full the issues that had been deferred during last year’s meeting.

During the 2024 meeting, the Committee deferred the application based on the need to further review additional component properties, insufficient interconnection between the component properties, and the need to supplement descriptions related to UNESCO’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and concrete protection and management plans.

This year’s application consists of 11 component sites, including two newly added locations. The component properties are as follows:

• 1.Presidential Residence

• 2.Provisional Government Complex (Dong-A University Seokdang Museum)

• 3.Meteorological Office Building (Busan Regional)

• 4.Pier 1 of Busan Port

• 5.U.S. Embassy/United States Information Service (Annex of the Busan Modern & Contemporary History Museum)

• 6.Camp Hialeah (Busan Citizens Park)

• 7.United Nations Memorial Cemetery

• 8.Amisan Stone Monument Refugee Housing (Ami-dong Tombstone Village)

• 9.Uam-dong Cattle Shed Village

• 10.Yeongdo Bridge

• 11.Bokbyeongsan Reservoir

The City carried out additional research, including studies conducted by the Busan Institute under the Research Cooperation Project and the Korea Heritage Service’s Tentative List Research Support Project; re-evaluated the component sites in cooperation with experts across related sectors, leading to the addition of two sites (Yeongdo Bridge and Bokbyeongsan Reservoir); strengthened the narrative coherence among component sites through a storyline centered on the Wartime Capital; and supplemented heritage-specific protection and management measures while highlighting Busan’s ongoing commitment to heritage preservation. Based on these enhancements, the City submitted a revised application.

Through these efforts, the application emphasized not only the Outstanding Universal Value prioritized by UNESCO but also the symbolic and universal values of peace and international solidarity embodied in Busan—a city that sheltered countless refugees and sustained national governance during the Korean War. These qualities further support the justification for inscription as World Heritage.

As a result, the Committee recognized Sites of the Wartime Capital Busan as a heritage that “demonstrates a national-level example of a wartime capital formed under the extraordinary circumstances of the mid-20th-century Korean War, sustaining state functions and social systems, and representing the universal value of peace pursued by the international community.” This marks a significant achievement acknowledged once again by domestic experts.

Following its selection for the Priority World Heritage List, the City will proceed with subsequent steps, including UNESCO’s Preliminary Assessment. By further enhancing the completeness of the application, Busan will continue to advance steadily toward World Heritage inscription.

Currently, among the 14 properties on Korea’s Tentative List, only two have been selected for the Priority World Heritage List: Archaeological Remains at the Hoeamsa Temple Site in Yangju City (selected in March) and Busan’s Sites of the Wartime Capital.

The Korea Heritage Service will continue to designate inscription candidates and strengthen the completeness of the application in accordance with domestic and international procedures.

Additionally, to complete the remaining domestic and international procedures required for World Heritage inscription, the City will continue its efforts to meet inscription criteria, strengthen systematic preservation and management tailored to each component site, and reinforce continuous research and implementation. Busan will further strengthen cooperation with local communities, district offices, and relevant institutions to support public participation and awareness.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “The effort to inscribe Sites of the Wartime Capital Busan as a World Heritage property is highly meaningful as Korea’s first attempt to list a modern heritage. It will be a great opportunity to promote Busan—which supported the Republic of Korea by embracing war refugees despite difficult circumstances—as a global symbol of solidarity, cooperation, and peace.”

He continued, “With the selection for the Korea Heritage Service’s Priority World Heritage List, the fruits of our long efforts have finally been realized. Together with the citizens of Busan, we will continue to preserve the historical and cultural value of the Wartime Capital Busan.”

He added, “The 48th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, to be held next July in Busan, will serve as yet another meaningful opportunity to share these values with the world. We will continue to work closely with the Korea Heritage Service to do our utmost toward inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.”