Completed ICOMOS Field Survey for 'Banguchon's Rock Carvings' World Heritage Nomination

Checking the Status of Professor Benjamin Smith's Legacy
World Heritage Listing Decision to Be Made at Next Year's July World Heritage Committee Meeting

'Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream,' which is challenging for UNESCO World Heritage status, was evaluated by experts for its preservation management and utilization status.

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 3rd that the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an official advisory body of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, conducted an on-site inspection of the 'Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream' area from the 27th to the 31st of last month. Professor Benjamin Smith from the University of Western Australia, who led the investigation, checked the status of the heritage sites, including the nationally designated treasures 'Cheonjeon-ri Engraved Characters and Petroglyphs' and 'Bangu-dae Petroglyphs in Daegok-ri, Ulju.' He also visited related institutions to examine the preservation and management status.

Based on the on-site inspection results and the review of the World Heritage nomination dossier, ICOMOS will select one of four recommendations?'recommend for inscription,' 'defer,' 'refer back,' or 'not recommend for inscription'?and deliver it to UNESCO and the concerned country. The final decision on inscription will be made at the World Heritage Committee meeting scheduled for July next year.

Discovered in the early 1970s, the Cheonjeon-ri Engraved Characters and Petroglyphs are rocks engraved with various shapes, writings, and drawings. The characters, believed to have been recorded during the reign of King Beopheung of Silla, are considered important materials for studying 6th-century Silla society.

The Bangu-dae Petroglyphs in Daegok-ri are rock paintings carved on a cliff rock bent in the shape of the Korean letter 'ㄱ.' Various animals and hunting scenes are vividly depicted. Particularly, the sections depicting whales struck by harpoons, whales carrying or nursing their calves, and key stages of the whaling process are rare examples, thus highly valued for their cultural and historical significance.

South Korea currently holds sixteen World Heritage sites, including the 'Gaya Tumuli,' which was inscribed last year.