South Korea will host the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s World Heritage Convention in July 2026 after joining the convention in 1988, UNESCO announced on Tuesday.
The event would be the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting and is scheduled in the port city of Busan in the southeastern portion of the Korean Peninsula after the organization on Tuesday announced South Korea will host the event next year.
“It is a great honor for us to host the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan,” Choi Eung-Chun, administrator of the Korea Heritage Service, said while accepting the committee’s decision made at its Paris headquarters on Tuesday.
Choi said the Republic of Korea will strive to ensure next year’s World Heritage Convention is a success.
“Korea has consistently contributed to the UNESCO World Heritage Fund and strengthened practical support from the international community for heritage protection,” Choi said, as reported by Chosun Biz.
“We will make all preparations to ensure that the World Heritage Committee held in Busan reaffirms our responsibility for heritage shared by all mankind and proceeds successfully,” he added.
The World Heritage Committee is comprised of 21 UNESCO member nations that determine which global sites hold “outstanding universal value” and must be protected.
Chosen sites are registered, preserved and protected for the benefit of humanity, and the World Heritage Committee first convened in Paris in 1977.
The committee also might determine which sites are endangered or make policy changes to better protect designated World Heritage sites.
The Korea Heritage Service is working with the Busan local government to review plans for the event that is anticipated to be scheduled from July 19 to July 29, 2026, and draw 3,000 attendees from delegations representing 196 nations.
Busan is located about 200 miles southeast of Seoul.
