Hosting World Heritage Committee After 38 Years... National Heritage Administration to Publish White Paper

Eleven-day plenary session at BEXCO in July
Comprehensive record from the bidding phase to the event itself

Yonhap News Agency

The National Heritage Administration will compile the preparation process and outcomes of the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which will open in Busan this July, and publish them as a government white paper.

According to the Public Procurement Service's Nara Marketplace on the 23rd, the National Heritage Administration recently commissioned a service project to produce the related white paper. The World Heritage Committee is the highest-level international meeting that deals with agenda items on inscription and conservation of heritage. After joining the World Heritage Convention in 1988, Korea has succeeded in hosting this meeting for the first time in 38 years.

The plenary session will be held from July 19 to 29 in and around BEXCO in Busan. Lee Byounghyun, former Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Korea to UNESCO, will serve as chair. An inspection team from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre visited Busan last month to conduct a preliminary review of the conference venue and overall event preparations.

The white paper will comprehensively cover the government's intensive efforts to secure the hosting rights, detailed strategies, and the record of its successful staging. It will also document the achievements related to the visit of more than 3,000 people to Busan during the committee session, including the secretary-general and officials from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It is scheduled to be published by next year at the latest.