Heritage Professionals Open Forum in South Korea Ahead of UNESCO Committee Session

Scores of heritage professionals gathered in South Korea on Thursday for the eighth World Heritage Site Managers' Forum, organizers said. The Korea Heritage Service and the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage said the forum will run through next Thursday across Busan and the nearby cities of Gyeongju, Ulsan and Gimhae.

The forum is held in cooperation with UNESCO's World Heritage Center, the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

It is one of the official pre-events for the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee scheduled for July 19-29 in Busan, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul. This marks the first time South Korea has hosted the meeting since joining the World Heritage Convention in 1988.

" They will discuss their countries' systems for heritage conservation and management as well as experiences with international cooperation.

Field visits are scheduled throughout the program. Attendees will tour Yangdong Village and Oksan Seowon in Gyeongju on Friday, along with the Bangudae Petroglyphs, prehistoric rock carvings along a stream in suburban Ulsan that were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2025.

Participants will also visit key historic excavation sites in Gyeongju on Monday before traveling to a tomb cluster from Korea's ancient confederation Gaya in Gimhae on the final day.

An official from the research institute said the forum would serve as an opportunity for South Korea to strengthen its role in global heritage conservation and expand international cooperation.