Latest news with #KoreaHeritageService
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Korea heritage institutions to offer special palace programs for marginalized groups this fall
Some 980 individuals will have the opportunity to experience royal court cuisine, nighttour at Gyeongbokgung The Korea Heritage Service's Royal Palaces and Tombs Center, in collaboration with the Korea Heritage Agency, will invite socially underserved groups to experience special programs at Korea's royal palaces in the latter half of this year, offering them an opportunity to explore the nation's royal heritage. The special event will offer some 980 individuals the opportunity to participate in a nighttime palace tour and a program featuring traditional herbal tea at Gyeongbokgung, one of Seoul's five Joseon-era (1392-1910) palaces, in central Seoul. Applications for the event will open from Tuesday until July 30 through the KHA's website. The final list of selected participants will be announced on Aug. 14 and notified individually. The program is open to people with disabilities, people from multicultural families or low-income households, residents of rural or fishing communities and veterans — individuals who may have limited access to cultural experiences, according to the two institutions. The tea program, titled "Taste of Suragan," is an immersive cultural event that offers participants a hands-on experience of royal court cuisine, centered around the theme 'see, eat, enjoy and be moved by the royal court culture." A total of 700 individuals will be invited to participate in the program, which will run from Sept. 10 to 14. Gyeongbokgung's Starlight Night Tour is a special cultural event held at the royal palace, where visitors can enjoy a traditional Korean meal at Sojubang, the royal kitchen, and a traditional Korean music performance, accompanied by expert commentary. It will invite some 250 people and run through Oct. 13 to Nov. 3.
UPI
15-07-2025
- UPI
48th UNESCO World Heritage summit scheduled in South Korea in 2026
July 15 (UPI) -- South Korea will host the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage Convention in July 2026 after joining the convention in 1988, UNESCO announced on Tuesday. The event would be the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting and is scheduled in the port city of Busan in the southeastern portion of the Korean Peninsula after the organization on Tuesday announced South Korea will host the event next year. "It is a great honor for us to host the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan," Choi Eung-Chun, administrator of the Korea Heritage Service, said while accepting the committee's decision made at its Paris headquarters on Tuesday. Choi said the Republic of Korea will strive to ensure next year's World Heritage Convention is a success. "Korea has consistently contributed to the UNESCO World Heritage Fund and strengthened practical support from the international community for heritage protection," Choi said, as reported by Chosun Biz. "We will make all preparations to ensure that the World Heritage Committee held in Busan reaffirms our responsibility for heritage shared by all mankind and proceeds successfully," he added. The World Heritage Committee is comprised of 21 UNESCO member nations that determine which global sites hold "outstanding universal value" and must be protected. Chosen sites are registered, preserved and protected for the benefit of humanity, and the World Heritage Committee first convened in Paris in 1977. The committee also might determine which sites are endangered or make policy changes to better protect designated World Heritage sites. The Korea Heritage Service is working with the Busan local government to review plans for the event that is anticipated to be scheduled from July 19 to July 29, 2026, and draw 3,000 attendees from delegations representing 196 nations. Busan is located about 200 miles southeast of Seoul.
Korea Herald
13-07-2025
- Science
- Korea Herald
Geology expert appointed chief of Korea Heritage Service
Huh Min, geology professor at Chonnam National University, was appointed to lead the Korea Heritage Service, the government entity responsible for preserving and promoting Korean cultural heritage. The announcement was made Sunday as President Lee Jae Myung appointed five vice ministers and seven vice ministerial-level officials, including Huh. Dubbed 'Dr. Dinosaur,' Huh's work has focused on dinosaur and pterosaur fossils as well as microfossils such as ostracods. He has been involved in various UNESCO projects, including Mudeungsan UNESCO Global Geopark, located in the southern city of Gwangju and the surrounding areas, as co-director and scientific adviser since 2018. Huh received his bachelor's degree in 1982 at Chonnam National University and received his master's degree in sedimentology from Seoul National University in 1986. In 1991, he earned a Ph.D. in paleontology from Korea University. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Wales in the UK. Korea Heritage Service is authorized to designate national heritage — national treasures, treasures, historic sites and others.
Korea Herald
13-07-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
UNESCO World Heritage-listed petroglyphs in Ulsan to get safety buffer in 2029
Newly designated as part of the UNESCO World Heritage as "Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream in Ulsan," showing evidence of prehistoric marine fishing in East Asia, key sites will have a buffer from rising water levels during heavy rain from as early as 2029, when a gate at the spillway of Sayeon Dam is expected to be completed. The UNESCO designation was announced during the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris, Saturday. 'It is estimated that the gate will be completed between late 2029 and early 2030. We will closely monitor and report the process to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee,' an official from the Korea Heritage Service told The Korea Herald on Sunday. The project will be led by the Korea Water Resources Corp. and funded by the Ministry of Environment, the source added. The installation is aimed at preventing damage to the petroglyphs from seasonal flooding during monsoons. The newly inscribed UNESCO World Heritage consists of the Daegok-ri Petroglyphs and Cheonjeon-ri Petroglyphs, both of which are also National Treasures, in Ulsan. The petroglyphs show a diverse range of images carved by generations of local inhabitants using stone and metal tools spanning prehistoric and historic eras from 5,000 BC through the ninth century. The images include coastal animals such as whales, human figures, hunting scenes and concentric circles. 'The property is an exceptional piece of evidence offering a condensed picture of how coastal inhabitants of East Asia developed from a hunter-gather society through an agricultural society and on to the ancient state stage,' the Cultural Heritage Service commented. The petroglyphs were discovered in 1971, six years after Sayeon Dam was built to secure drinking water and to prevent floods. An attempt was made in 2013 to protect the heritage sites from flooding by building a polycarbonate wall around the Bangudae petroglyph, which failed. The designation as World Heritage was announced at the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Paris. The inscription had been expected in May after the International Council on Monuments and Sites, a key advisory body to UNESCO, recommended their listing. Efforts to inscribe the 'Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream' on the UNESCO World Heritage finally paid off after 15 years, as it was first added to the tentative list of World Heritage Sites in 2010. South Korea holds a total of 17 UNESCO World Heritage properties, comprising 15 cultural and two natural sites. In making its decision on the petroglyphs, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee recommended that it be informed of the progress of the gate installation and for the UNESCO World Heritage Center to be informed of major development plans that may impact the outstanding universal value of the heritage. yunapark@
Korea Herald
11-07-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
Korea Heritage Service to recruit attendees for 80th Liberation Day exhibition opening
Public invited to reflect on legacy of independence at Deoksugung's Seokjojeon Hall The Korea Heritage Service is recruiting 150 attendees to participate in the official opening ceremony of an exhibition commemorating the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. The event will provide participants with a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the history and cultural legacy of Korea's independence movement. 'The Radiant Heritage of Independence' exhibition will take place at Seokjojeon — Korea's first Western-style stone building, constructed in 1910 — located in Deoksugung, one of the five major palaces of the Joseon era (1392–1910) in central Seoul. It will run from Aug. 12 to Oct. 12. Applications to attend the opening ceremony will be accepted via the Korea Heritage Service's official website from 1 p.m. Monday to 6 p.m. Thursday. Each applicant may register up to five people, and participation is free of charge. Selected participants will be announced on the agency's website on July 23. Attendees of the opening ceremony will be treated to a series of celebratory performances, including an opening act by a children's performance troupe, and will have the chance to preview the exhibition before it opens to the public. The exhibition will examine the significance of liberation through the lens of modern-era cultural heritage. More than 110 artifacts will be on display, including nationally designated treasures such as a Taegeukgi, the Korean national flag, preserved at Jingwan Temple in Bukhansan, northern Seoul. Also on view will be historical documents related to independence activist Seo Young-hae, recognized as cultural heritage earlier this year.
