Busan is good

Busan Takes a Leap Forward as a Global Cultural City Shaping the Future of World Heritage

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that the 48th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, hereinafter referred to as the Committee, held at BEXCO from July 19 to 29, concluded successfully.

Held in Busan, the event was the first World Heritage Committee session ever hosted in the Republic of Korea, 38 years after the country joined the World Heritage Convention in 1988. Approximately 3,140 participants from 162 countries attended, including the UNESCO Director-General and representatives of the 21 Committee Member States.

Busan Metropolitan City established a comprehensive safety management system in cooperation with the Korea Heritage Service, police, fire authorities, and other relevant agencies. It provided seamless operational support, enabling approximately 137,000 domestic and international visitors to attend the event safely and successfully demonstrating Busan’s capacity as a host city for international conferences.

The Committee session was praised not merely as an international conference, but as an event created together with citizens through the participation of volunteers, supporters, a children’s press corps, and other community groups.

The volunteer corps for the 48th World Heritage Committee Busan Program supported participant activities throughout the event, including on-site operations at BEXCO, field trips, and shuttle bus services.

The Global Supporters for Busan, Korea’s Wartime Capital promoted the Committee session both online and offline. The Kkobugi Children’s Press Corps, composed of local elementary school students, conveyed the significance of World Heritage and international conferences to the public from a child’s perspective.

In addition, from July 25 to 26, a Joseon Tongsinsa procession and an opportunity to board a recreated Joseon Tongsinsa vessel were presented at BEXCO and around the reclaimed pier in Yonghoman Bay. These programs introduced citizens and participants to the value of peaceful exchange embodied in the Documents on Joseon Tongsinsa, which are inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

To further promote the value of Busan as Korea’s wartime capital, the city also organized programs including the National Heritage Night Tour in Busan, Korea’s Wartime Capital, outreach education on the proposed World Heritage of Busan as Korea’s Wartime Capital, and the Busan Cultural Heritage Academic Conference. These events provided opportunities for experts and citizens to discuss and promote the scholarly value of the wartime capital.

Approximately 137,000 people visited the K-Heritage Korea Pavilion, including about 42,000 visitors to the Busan Pavilion, providing a valuable opportunity to introduce Busan’s history and culture to a wider audience.

Thirteen programs, including World Heritage and Busan Heritage field trips, received an enthusiastic response from international participants. All 1,000 limited-edition Visit Busan Passes commemorating the Committee session were sold out. Gowaye, a representative local cultural heritage product, also generated approximately KRW 14 million in sales. The economic impact of the Committee session, including increased tourism, is estimated at KRW 137.2 billion.

Fourteen videos featuring event highlights and vivid on-site scenes were released through the city’s official social media channels and YouTube. They recorded approximately 1.58 million cumulative views and around 50,000 interactions, including likes, comments, shares, and saves, clearly demonstrating the public’s strong interest and enthusiasm for the event.

On July 20, during the Committee session, Mayor Chun Jae-soo met with UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany and discussed future cooperation between Busan and UNESCO.

On the same day, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee formally adopted the Busan Declaration on World Heritage in response to global challenges such as climate change. The declaration introduced Collaboration as a new Strategic Objective of the World Heritage Convention.

On July 23, a welcome dinner hosted by the Mayor brought together approximately 150 guests. Attendees included around 60 UNESCO officials and representatives, among them Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre; Ivan Verbytskyi, First Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine; Huh Min, Administrator of the Korea Heritage Service; and delegations from 17 Committee Member States. The event further strengthened cooperation between Busan and UNESCO.

Busan Metropolitan City plans to continue enhancing its brand as a global cultural city by organizing an international heritage forum and pursuing the establishment of a UNESCO Category 2 Centre.

Together with the Korea Heritage Service, the city will make the international heritage forum a regular event and seek to establish a UNESCO Category 2 Centre as an international hub for research and education on modern and contemporary urban heritage. Through these initiatives, Busan will position itself as a focal city for international cooperation in the World Heritage field.

Building on the international network established through the Committee session, the city intends to emerge as a global cultural city that leads international cooperation on World Heritage.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo said, “This Committee session provided an excellent opportunity to introduce Busan’s history and culture to the world.”

“Building on these achievements, we will ensure thorough preparations for the inscription of the Heritage of Busan, Korea’s Wartime Capital during the Korean War, on the World Heritage List in 2030,” he added.