Academic Conference to Mark 10th Anniversary of Baekje Historic Areas' World Heritage Inscription

Buyeo County and World Heritage Center
to Hold Academic Conference in Parallel

A ceremony and academic conference will be held to mark the 10th anniversary of the Baekje Historic Areas being inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On September 15, Buyeo County in South Chungcheong Province and the Baekje World Heritage Center announced that they will host the "10th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony and Academic Conference for the Baekje Historic Areas' World Heritage Inscription" at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul on September 16.

The event, themed "A Journey Toward the Balance of Preservation and Utilization," will be divided into two parts: the first part will be the commemoration ceremony, and the second part will be the academic conference.

The commemoration ceremony will include a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the World Heritage inscription, an awards ceremony for the slogan contest, and a special performance by the Baekje Gayageum Ensemble.

The academic conference will begin with a keynote speech by Noh Joonguk, Professor Emeritus at Keimyung University, followed by presentations on the following topics: Integrated Management System for Serial Heritage (Doowon Cho, Vice Chairman of ICOMOS Korea), Achievements and Challenges in Preservation Management (Soojeong Lee, Director of the UNESCO International Centre for the Interpretation of World Heritage Sites), Strategies for Utilizing World Heritage (Soonho Kim, Director at the National Heritage Promotion Agency), Baekje Branding (Joo Yoon, Commissioner at the Cultural Heritage Administration), Achievements and Future Prospects for the 10th Anniversary (Jinseong Jeon, Director of the Korean UNESCO Research Institute), and Strategies for Revitalizing Tourism (Hyunggon Kim, Professor at Sejong University).

Additionally, a comprehensive discussion will be held, chaired by Dongjin Kang, Professor at Kyungsung University, with participation from Jaemo Cho, Professor at Kyungpook National University, Inheon Song, Director at the Cultural Heritage Administration, and Hocheol Ryu, Professor at Anyang University.

A county official stated, "We expect this event to serve as an opportunity to reflect on the value of the Baekje Historic Areas and to explore directions for future development."