Busan said on the 16th that it will host the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO) in U-dong, Haeundae District, from July 19 to July 29. This is the first time the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is being held in Korea.
The committee will open with an opening ceremony on the 19th and a plenary session on the 20th, where delegations from each country will gather to discuss key world heritage agenda items. It will then officially close on the 29th, following a closing ceremony on the 28th.
Busan projected that about 3,000 people, including the UNESCO secretary-general, representatives of committee member states, and key figures from states parties to the convention, will take part in this committee.
Accordingly, during the event, it will run customized programs so that committee participants can experience Busan's history and culture in depth. It will offer the "Busan heritage field trip," which visits refugee-capital Busan heritage such as the Modern and Contemporary History Museum and the Provisional Capital Memorial Hall and tours traditional markets, and the "World heritage field trip," which explores the petroglyphs of Bangudae Stream and Bulguksa Temple.
In addition, at the host city welcome dinner on the 23rd, it will present a special performance by the Busan City Art Troupe titled "Wishing sea" and serve special menus using local ingredients, including "rice balls on the refugee route" and "Gijang premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo, neobiani."
Busan also estimated that 120,000 domestic and international tourists will visit during the committee. To that end, it will hold various participatory cultural events.
From the 20th to the 29th of this month, the Host City Busan Hall, where visitors can see the past and future of the gateway city of Busan, will be operated at Exhibition Hall 1 of the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO). On the 18th and 19th, at the Busan Cinema Center, side events such as a special outdoor screening on the theme of world heritage, linked to the Busan Travel Film Festival, will be held.
In addition, attractions and academic seminars such as the "Joseon Tongsinsa parade and boarding experience" and the "refugee capital Busan national heritage night tour" will take place.
Busan plans to use this committee as an opportunity to promote the value of local heritage to the world. During the committee, it will push to adopt the Busan Declaration, an international declaration that includes Busan's symbolic agenda, and will pursue follow-up projects such as hosting a global heritage forum and attracting UNESCO-affiliated partner institutions.
Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said, "The hosting of this committee has created an opportunity to showcase Busan's international capacity," and added, "We will achieve the 2030 inscription of the refugee-capital Busan heritage from the Korean War era and enable Busan to be reborn as a city of beautiful heritage visited by people from around the world."