• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.56-85
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• 2010

UNESCO World Heritage Programme was introduced following the adoption of Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972 in order to protect cultural and natural heritage with superb value for all mankind. Despite its short history of less than 40 years, it has been evaluated as one of the most successful of the cultural area projects of UNESCO with 890 world heritage registered worldwide. For systematic protection management of World Heritage, UNESCO, through systemization of registration, emphasis on the importance of preservation management plan, institutionalization of monitoring, and operation of World Heritage Fund, has utilized World Heritage Programme not just as a means of listing excellent cultural properties, but as a preservation planning tool, and accordingly, such policies have had a significant influence on the cultural heritage protection legislations of numerous nations. Korea has ratified World Heritage Convention in 1988, and with the registration of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty in 2009, it has 9 World Heritage Sites. Twenty years have passed since Korea joined the World Heritage Programme. While World Heritage registration contributed to publicity of the uniqueness and excellence of Korean cultural properties and improvement of Korea's national culture status, it is now time to devise various legislative/systematic improvement means to reconsider the World Heritage registration strategy and establish a systematic preservation management system. While up until now, the Cultural Properties Protection Law has been amended to arrange for basic rules regarding registration and protection of World Heritage Sites, and some local governments have founded bodies exclusive for World Heritage Site management, a more fundamental and macroscopic plan for World Heritage policy improvement must be sought. Projects and programs in each area for reinforcement of World Heritage policy capacity such as: 1) Enactment of a special law for World Heritage Site preservation management; 2) enactment of ordinances for protection of World Heritage Sites per each local government; 3) reinforcement of policies and management functionality of Cultural Heritage Administration and local governments; 4) dramatic increase in the finances of World Heritage Site protection; 5) requirement to establish plan for World Heritage Site preservation protection; 6) increased support for utilization of World Heritage Sites; 7) substantiation and diversification of World Heritage registration; 8) sharing of information and experiences of World Heritage Sites management among local governments; 9) installation of World Heritage Sites integral archive; 10) revitalization of citizen cooperation and resident participation; 11) training specialized resources for World Heritage Sites protection; 12) revitalization of sustainable World Heritage Sites tourism, must be selected and promoted systematically. Regarding how World Heritage Programme should be domestically accepted and developed, the methods for systemization, scientific approach, and specialization of World Heritage policies were suggested per type. In the future, in-depth and specialized researches and studies should follow.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.21-35
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to develop a method for establishing an educational system for World Heritage interpretation applicable to World Heritage sites and to design an education program for World Heritage interpretation by applying the developed education system in this study. This study first identified the definition of interpretation and the relationship between interpretation and education through previous research and analyzed the role and significance of heritage interpretation due to the paradigm transition in the capacity building of World Heritage sites. Next, the educational status of World Heritage interpretation was analyzed through educational institutions, educational subjects, and curriculum examples. Finally, this study argues that a method for establishing a World Heritage interpretation education system should be presented according to the composition of the curriculum, and the interpretation curriculum planning by interpreters should be proposed focusing on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of World Heritage sites.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.264-279
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• 2023

The 50th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention was in 2022. In order to reflect on the present and future of the meaning of World Heritage, this paper examines the development and changes of the UNESCO World Heritage system. After promulgating the convention in 1972, the UNESCO World Heritage system prioritized the protection of heritage sites in the world that were at risk due to armed conflicts and natural disasters to bequeath heritage to the next generation. In addition, the UNESCO World Heritage's emphasis on Outstanding Universal Value represents the particular culture of human beings formed during a certain period of time, and acts as a significant source of soft power in public diplomacy. The UNESCO World Heritage might be perceived as a shared heritage that has not only become a channel to understand various national values, but also an effective medium to convey one of UNESCO's main principles, that is, peacebuilding. However, the UNESCO World Heritage is now at the center of conflicts of heritage interpretation between many stakeholders related to invisible wars, such as cultural wars, memory wars, and history wars as the social, political, and cultural contexts concerning World Heritage have dramatically shifted with the passing of time. Paying attention to such changing contexts, this paper seeks to understand the main developments in UNESCO World Heritage's discourse concerning changes to the World Heritage Operation Guidelines and heritage experts' meetings by dividing its 50-year history into five phases. Next, this paper analyzes the main shifts in keywords related to UNESCO World Heritage through UNESDOC, which is a platform on which all UNESCO publications are available. Finally, this paper discusses three main changes of UNESCO World Heritage: 1) changes in focus in World Heritage inscriptions, 2) changes in perception of World Heritage protection, and 3) changes of view on the role of the stakeholders in World Heritage. It suggests new emerging issues regarding heritage interpretation and ethics, climate change, and human rights.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.22-37
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• 2016

This research sought to examine the strategies of cultural heritage proving the negative history to be registered as world heritage, among the World Heritages registered in UNESCO. Therefore, to comprehend "negative history"and the heritages with "instructive value," the new term of "Remembrance Heritage"was suggested, and such cases of world heritage were analyzed. Especially by analyzing the criteria of being registered by focusing on the cases of similar World Heritages with similar historical background or form as Korean DMZ, the criteria of OUV that may be applied when Korean DMZ is promoted to be registered as World Heritage. The research results may be summarized as the following. First of all, Remembrance Heritage is a place in which events of universal significance have occurred, rather than the historical, artistic, landscape, and scholastic value of the heritage itself, and was evaluated as architecture, landscape, or place in which the events or historical steps could be verified through architectural, landscape, archaeological or technical means. Secondly, Remembrance Heritage was often applied to be registered with the criterion (vi), and criterion (iii) or criterion (iv). Thirdly, in case of the Korean DMZ, application of criterion (iv) as heritage proving the age of cold war and criterion (vi) as symbolic value of peace may be possible.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.54-71
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• 2018

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first inscription of 12 UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1978. Based on an overview of the implementation of the 'Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage', this article examines the current issues of the inscription of cultural heritage over the past 40 years. In particular, this paper focuses on the case study of 'Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Munakata Region' nominated by Japan, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List at the 41st World Heritage Committee in 2017. Also, it demonstrates the recent trend and investigates the issues of imbalances in the evaluation and the decisions among relevant actors in the nomination process of World Heritage. Furthermore, this article attempts to derive feasible implications and lessons, and to generate heritage discourse by examining Japan's management in 'heritage diplomacy' of the World Heritage Convention, which is rapidly changing in the course of its nearly half a century of implementation. In conclusion, the research is expected to provide Korea with strategic guidance marking the 30th anniversary of its entry into the Convention, and to steer the future direction for the inscription and conservation of cultural heritage.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.929-943
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• 2013

This paper examines the evaluation and categorization of national heritage 'Myeongseung(scenic places)' from the viewpoint of world heritage concept and its criteria. This study focuses on Myeongseung because the author thinks it implies the unique human-nature relationships that have been evolved in Korean Peninsula, and then draws some pending problems with the evaluation of those heritage. Formerly, the paper discusses theoretically the outcome and point at issue on concept, criteria, evaluation of world heritage, and then proposes three issues on the evaluation and categorization of national heritage 'Myeongseung': first, the establishment of basic concept for evaluation of heritage; second, the building of unified criteria list to cover both natural and cultural heritage; and third, the reorganization of categories for the advanced registration and management. Especially, the author emphasizes that it is necessary rather to extend actively the world heritage concept than to regard it as a fixed framework.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.50-67
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• 2018

Heritage has entered the center stage of public diplomacy in East Asia. Competition to claim and interpret memories of World War II in East Asia has driven campaigns to list heritage items with UNESCO. State and non-state actors aim to use heritage listings to present a particular view of the war and related history to domestic and international audiences. This paper highlights the role of heritage soft power in East Asia's "memory contests" by examining the promotion of dissonant modern heritage in UNESCO's heritage programs. It conceptualizes heritage designation as a soft power resource in East Asia and presents a conceptual framework for understanding the hegemonic competition over the "memory regime" that emerged from the structural change in East Asia's regional order. It then uses this framework to analyze the processes by which state and non-state actors promote and/or object to UNESCO recognition of their sites and documents as heritage of outstanding universal value or world significance. The elements of this process are illustrated with case studies of two very different pieces of heritage, Japan's "Sites of the Meiji Industrial Revolution" and China's "Documents of Nanjing Massacre," which were enshrined as significant world heritage in 2015. While state and non-state actors in East Asia are increasingly recognizing the utility of heritage as a soft power resource for advancing specific historical narratives to an international audience, a backlash movement from civil society groups and governments in other countries prevents a purely unilateral interpretation. As a result, the utility of heritage soft power in this context must be significantly qualified.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.11
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• pp.321-329
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• 2017

Baekje Historic Areas were inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List unanimously at the 2015 World Heritage Committee held in Bonn, Germany. There are three ramparts in Beakje Historic Areas; Gongsansung fortress in Gong-ju, Busosangsung fortress and the outer city wall in Buyeo. The purpose of this study is to research the use plan and the condition of the conservation and management for enhancing values of the World Cultural Heritage. This paper analyses basic survey, repair, documentation, conservation, management, and the cases of the utilizing these fortresses through literatures and a field studies. This study, based on the management and use of Baekje fortresses, could give implications for the conservation, management, and use of other fortresses.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.18
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• pp.93-114
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• 2017

This paper reviewed a total of eight sites in Vietnam inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The sites include the five cultural heritage sites(the Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, Citadel of the Ho Dynasty, My Son Sanctuary, Hoi An Ancient Town, and Complex of Hué Monuments), two natural heritage sites (Ha Long Bay and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park), and one mixed heritage site (Trang An Landscape Complex). All these sites are situated in the northern and central areas of the country, and no inscribed site exists in the south. The two natural heritage sites and the Trang An Landscape Complex, a mixed heritage site, feature a typical Karst topographic landscape with limestone caves, cliffs, stalactites, and underwater rivers. The four cultural heritage sites as well as Hoa Lu of the Trang An Landscape Complex mainly consist of remains of the citadels of the capitals of ancient Vietnamese dynasties from the northern region. Due to the complex political situation in the aftermath of the long Vietnam War and the subsequent unification of the country, the Vietnamese government has been giving priority for inscription on the World Heritage List to sites with historical legitimacy in the northern region. It is hoped that the Vietnamese government will pursue more integrated cultural policies in the future that can help reduce north-south regional disparities.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.17-28
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• 2011

This study was conducted to analyze the status of the traditional medicines registered by the Chinese state as intangible cultural heritages, and of Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion registered by UNESCO as world intangible cultural heritages in 2010, in connection with the need to have Traditional Korean Medicine skills similarly registered as world intangible cultural heritage items. Since UNESCO's adoption of the Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritages in 2003, the Chinese government has pushed ahead with efforts to explore and protect intangible cultural heritage items and have them registered as world intangible cultural heritages. Thus, Benchaogangmu (本草綱目) and Huangdineijing (黃帝內經) were listed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register while Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion were registered as world intangible cultural heritage properties. For Traditional Korean Medicine skills to be listed as world intangible cultural heritage properties, steps should be taken first to include the skills in the list of domestic intangible cultural heritage items and to make further explorations in the sector. Such efforts are also important in terms of the need to establish the legitimacy of Traditional Korean Medicines.