|
In accordance with the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection
of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, UNESCO selects
cultural assets of international importance that it deems
worthy of special preservation and designates them as part
of the "World Heritage." As of mid-1998, 552 cultural treasures
from 112 countries are registered by UNESCO on the World Heritage
List.
In 1995, three Korean sites were added to the World Heritage
List. They are Bulguksa Temple and nearby Seokguram Grotto,
Jongmyo (Royal Ancestral Shrine), and the Tripitaka Koreana
woodblocks and their depositories at Haeinsa Temple. In 1997,
Changdeokgung Palace and Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon were also
added to the list. Through the listing of these five cultural
assets, the excellence and uniqueness of Korea's cultural
treasures have been made more widely known.
In addition, in 1997, UNESCO began a Memory of the World
Register to preserve threatened records and documents utilizing
new technologies. These priceless treasures are called World
Textual Heritage. Items initially selected from Korea's written
heritage include Hunmin jeongeum (the Korean writing system)
and the Joseon wangjo sillok (the court journals of the Joseon
Dynasty 1392-1910).
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to add two more
Korean entries to the World Heritage List In December 2000,
bringing the total number of Korean entries to seven. The
two new entries are the Gyeongju Historic Area and the dolmen
sites located in the towns of Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa.
|
