By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Volcanoes and lava tubes on Jeju Island were registered as World Natural Heritage, Wednesday.
It is the first time for a South Korean natural heritage to be put on the list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to register Jeju volcanic island and lava tubes at the 31st session held in Christchurch, New Zealand, accepting the recommendation from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
The registered nature heritage consists of three main sites _ Mt. Halla, Seongsan Ilchulbong tuff ring, and Geomunoreum lava tube system. The sites cover areas of 188.4 square kilometers, 10.1 percent of Jeju Island's total size.
Jeju Island is a gently sloping shield volcano and the 1,950-meter high peak in the center is Mt. Halla, Natural Monument No. 182.
Seongsan Ilchulbong, or Sunrise Peak, is an archetypal tuff cone formed about 100,000 years ago. It is a scenic point with a bowl-like crater and cliffs, especially spectacular at sunrise.
The lava tube system includes Geomun Oreum, a parasitic cone about 20 kilometers northeast of Mt. Halla, and five lava tubes that were formed by lava from the oreum _ Manjangul, Gimnyeonggul, Yongcheondonggul, Dangcheomuldonggul and Bengdwigul.