Korea Heritage Service Administrator Huh Min on July 28 speaks at the closing ceremony of the annual session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at the convention center BEXCO in Busan's Haeundae-gu District.

By Uyen Nguyen
Photos = Korea Heritage Service

Busan on July 28 completed its hosting of the annual session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, the largest edition in the event's history, at the convention center BEXCO in the city's Haeundae-gu District.

Hosted by Korea for the first time, the session drew a record 3,140 participants -- including 25 ministerial-level officials -- from 162 countries.

This edition approved the inscription of 25 new sites on the World Heritage list, bringing the overall figure to 1,273 in 173 countries: 991 cultural, 240 natural and 42 mixed. The additions included France's Normandy beaches where the D-Day landings occurred during World War II and the first designations in history for the African countries Comoros, Sao Tome and Príncipe, and South Sudan.

For Korea, four gaetbeol (tidal flats) were approved for the Phase II expansion of the country's "Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats" registered as World Heritage in 2021.

The performance "Good to Go in Busan" is held on July 26 at the auditorium of the convention center BEXCO in Busan's Haeundae-gu District.

K-Heritage House, a pavilion at BEXCO promoting traditional heritage and culture, saw 35 organizations run 45 booths that attracted a combined 137,422 visitors over 10 days. The facility hosted three sold out performances such as "Sanhwabi: Hexagram 22" and "Good to Go in Busan," and its pop-up store raked in sales of KRW 280 million.

The committee selected Istanbul, Turkiye, as the host city of next year's session and adopted a final resolution.

Based on the Busan Declaration adopted at this session, the Korea Heritage Service will expand global cooperation in world heritage and pursue follow-up projects such as the hosting of the tentatively named Busan World Heritage Forum.

uyen81@korea.kr