N. Korea's Mount Kumgang named UNESCO World Heritage site

This photo provided by the North's official Korean Central News Agency shows Mount Kumgang, which was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Sunday. Yonhap

North Korea's Mount Kumgang, noted for its striking natural beauty, has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site on Sunday.

During the 47th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Paris, the decision was made to inscribe the mountain and the historical relics in and around it on the list of protected landmarks and sites of internationally recognized cultural, historic or scientific value.

For more than a thousand years, Mount Kumgang (Geumgang in South Korean romanization) has enchanted artists, lyrists and travelers alike with its breathtaking panorama of craggy granite peaks, tumbling waterfalls and mist-veiled gorges.

Joseon-era painter Jeong Seon's mid-18th century painting "Complete View of Geumgangsan Mountain" / Courtesy of Hoam Museum of Art

Eighteenth-century Joseon-era painter Jeong Seon immortalized its splendor in his career-defining masterpiece, “Complete View of Geumgangsan Mountain.”

Beyond its landscape, Mount Kumgang is home to a rich array of indigenous flora and fauna, as well as centuries-old relics of Korean Buddhism — temples perched at high altitudes, secluded hermitages and statues carved directly into the mountain’s jagged stone.

With this latest addition, North Korea now holds three UNESCO World Heritage properties, including the tomb complex of the Goguryeo Dynasty (37 B.C.-668 A.D.) and the historic monuments and sites of Kaesong (Gaeseong), the former capital of the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392).