Guardians of world's heritage convene in Busan to protect endangered sites

Oksan Seowon in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of Korea Heritage Service

Ahead of a major United Nations summit on global heritage, preservationists from around the world convened in the southeastern port city of Busan Thursday to confront a shifting landscape of threats to historical sites, arguing that local communities must play a central role if modern conservation is to survive.

The gathering of more than 80 international experts and site managers at the Bexco convention center marks the launch of the eighth World Heritage Site Managers’ Forum. The eight-day event serves as the official curtain-raiser for the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting, which is scheduled to begin in Busan on July 19.

Against a backdrop of rapid urbanization, climate change and regional development, this year's forum focuses on "Connection and Communication." The core objective is to move away from top-down, state-centric preservation models and instead establish sustainable, community-driven frameworks.

"Site managers are the first line of defense in preserving our shared human history," said Lim Jong-deock, director general of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage. "This forum provides a critical platform to exchange real-world strategies for integrating local voices into daily heritage management."

To ground these policy debates, delegates are embarking on field studies across Korea’s southern historic belt to examine "people-centered" preservation in practice. On Friday, the delegation will visit Gyeongju Yangdong Village in North Gyeongsang Province, a historic clan estate where descendants still reside and maintain centuries-old Confucian traditions, and Oksan Seowon, one of Korea’s historic Confucian academies, to study the management of multi-site serial heritage properties.

In Ulsan, delegates will walk the banks of the Bangu Stream to inspect ancient petroglyphs. There, they will study how provincial authorities negotiated with water management agencies and local residents to balance preservation with the region’s environmental and developmental needs.

The forum will also address disaster risks.

Managers will visit the Gyeongju Historic Areas, Monday, to study the "Disaster Risk Reduction" protocols implemented after the ancient capital was struck by an earthquake in 2016.

By sharing these practical, tech-driven hazard management protocols, Korea aims to position itself as a central player in international heritage policy. The forum will culminate on July 21 with the presentation of a formal Site Managers' Declaration directly to the World Heritage Committee.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.