The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recommended that the UNESCO World Heritage Committee approve an extension inscription to expand World Heritage status to domestic tidal flats including Goheung, Muan, Yeosu, and Seosan tidal flats. If inscribed, these tidal flats will be added to the existing World Heritage-listed Seocheon tidal flat, Jeonbuk Gochang tidal flat, and Boseong-Suncheon tidal flat.
The Korea Heritage Service and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said on the 5th that the IUCN assessed that "Korean Tidal Flats Phase 2" meets the World Heritage inscription criteria. The judgment was that these properties satisfy the World Heritage criteria, integrity, and protection and management requirements set out in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
Accordingly, the IUCN recommended to the World Heritage Committee the approval of a boundary modification to expand the boundaries of the Korean Tidal Flats, an existing World Heritage property.
This Phase 2 extension inscription recommendation would add ▲ Yeosu tidal flat ▲ Goheung tidal flat ▲ Muan tidal flat ▲ Seosan tidal flat to the existing World Heritage property, expanding its component parts and area.
Korean tidal flats were inscribed on the World Heritage List at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2021, recognizing the World Heritage value of four tidal flats: Seocheon tidal flat, Gochang tidal flat, Sinan tidal flat, and Boseong–Suncheon tidal flat.
At the time, the World Heritage Committee also recommended pursuing a Phase 2 extension inscription that includes additional tidal flat areas to further strengthen the property's "Outstanding Universal Value."
The final decision on whether Korean Tidal Flats Phase 2 will be inscribed on the World Heritage List is scheduled to be made at the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee session to be held in Busan in Jul.