Goyang City’s Bukhansanseong, ‘Capital Fortress Walls of Hanyang’ World Heritage Preliminary Evaluation Result “Positive”

Notification from Advisory Body ICOMOS on "Meeting Authenticity and Integrity Requirements"

Goyang Special City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) announced on the 26th that it received a positive result in the ‘World Heritage Preliminary Assessment’ for the ‘Capital Fortifications of Hanyang,’ including Bukhansanseong, which was applied for to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in September 2023.

Bukhansanseong. Provided by Goyang Special City

The ‘Preliminary Assessment’ is a system newly introduced by UNESCO in 2021 to increase the possibility of being listed as a World Heritage site. Each country prepares a high-quality nomination dossier through prior discussions with advisory bodies from the early stages of the application process.

Goyang Special City, Seoul City, and Gyeonggi Province submitted the preliminary assessment application for the ‘Capital Fortifications of Hanyang’ (Bukhansanseong - Hanyangdoseong - Tangchundaeseong) to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in September 2023. After about a year of document review by the advisory body, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the result was recently notified.

UNESCO World Heritage Registration Process Diagram. Provided by Goyang Special City

Cultural heritage is preliminarily assessed by ICOMOS, and natural heritage by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The evaluation is conducted through about a year of document review without on-site inspection.

ICOMOS stated in the evaluation result that “the Capital Fortifications of Hanyang are likely to meet the criteria for Outstanding Universal Value based on criterion (iii) and are judged to satisfy the requirements of authenticity and integrity.” It also provided recommendations such as conducting additional comparative research and establishing measures to strengthen the protection and management system of the heritage.

Criterion (iii) refers to the unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or civilization, whether extant or vanished.

Based on the results of this preliminary assessment, Goyang Special City, Seoul City, and Gyeonggi Province plan to reflect the recommendations and systematically proceed with domestic and international procedures, including the selection of the ‘nomination target’ for World Heritage listing by the National Heritage Administration in the future.