Mount Kumgang, famous for its beautiful scenery that changes with each season, is expected to be registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in North Korea.
According to UNESCO on the 27th, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which are advisory bodies of the World Heritage Committee, have made a recommendation for listing regarding Mount Kumgang, which North Korea has applied to register as a World Heritage site. The official name is 'Mount Kumgang' (Mt. Kumgang - Diamond Mountain from the Sea). Heritage sites that receive a recommendation for listing in the evaluation are generally inscribed by the World Heritage Committee unless there are any unusual circumstances.
Mount Kumgang is well known as one of the famous mountains on the Korean Peninsula, along with Baekdusan. It features numerous peaks, bizarre rock formations, waterfalls, and ponds centered around the 1,638-meter-high Birobong, spanning from the northern Taebaek Mountains through the counties of Hwacheon, Tongcheon, and Goseong in Gangwon Province. Depending on location, it is categorized into Naegeumgang, Oegeumgang, and Haegeumgang, and a variety of plant species inhabit the area.
It is expected that Mount Kumgang will be listed on the registry about four years after its application for registration. According to information released on its website by UNESCO, North Korea submitted the registration application for Mount Kumgang in 2021, but evaluation and assessment could not take place at that time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been included in this year's agenda.
North Korea has reportedly applied for Mount Kumgang as a mixed heritage site with both cultural and natural heritage characteristics. ICOMOS and IUCN recommended that North Korea be advised on the new World Heritage listing, but suggested that "the remaining areas, excluding the marine elements of the Haegeumgang region and the Chongsokjeong area, be listed as a cultural landscape."
The 47th World Heritage Committee will take place from July 6 to 16 in Paris, France (local time). If the World Heritage registration is confirmed later, it will become North Korea's third World Heritage site. North Korea currently possesses two World Heritage sites: the "Goguryeo Tombs" (2004) and the "Kaesong Historical Area" (2013), along with five intangible cultural heritage items.