Gov't Retracts Application For Ancient Wall To Be Listed on UNESCO Heritage Site | Be Korea-savvy

Gov’t Retracts Application For Ancient Wall To Be Listed on UNESCO Heritage Site


The Seoul City Wall is an 18.6-kilometer-long wall surrounding Hanyang, the former capital of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and present-day central Seoul. (Image: Yonhap)

The Seoul City Wall is an 18.6-kilometer-long wall surrounding Hanyang, the former capital of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and present-day central Seoul. (Image: Yonhap)

SEOUL, March 21 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government scraped a plan to put an ancient wall built in 1396 on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Cultural Heritage Foundation (CHA) said Tuesday.

The decision came after the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory group to UNESCO, ruled earlier this month “not to inscribe” the wall onto the World Heritage list.

The Seoul City Wall is an 18.6-kilometer-long wall surrounding Hanyang, the former capital of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and present-day central Seoul.

The ICOMOS panels, whose advice is tantamount to a decision of the U.N. body, concluded the wall failed to fulfill OUV (Outstanding Universal Value) and that it has relied too much on state supervision to be maintained, which hampers the continuation of tradition.

“As competition to get inscribed has been rising, evaluation is also getting very strict. We will do more thorough research and review when we apply for it in the future,” the CHA said in a statement.

The CHA and the Seoul metropolitan government plan to try to get it inscribed in 2020.’

(Yonhap)

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