Goryeo Dynasty remains in N. Korea listed as World Heritage

The remains near Kaesong, the ancient capital of Korea`s Goryeo Dynasty, have been made onto UNESCO`s World Heritage list.

UNESCO added sites in Kaesong to the list at the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The sites listed include: five separate sections of the Kaesong City Walls; the ruins of the Manwoldae Palace and the Cheomseongdae (an astronomical and meteorological observatory); the Kaesong Name Gate (the main southern city gate in the Inner Wall); Goryeo Seonggyungwan (a former high state education institute that educated Goryeo national officials); Sungyang Seowon (a Confucian private school on the site of the former residence of Goryeo scholar Chung Mong-ju whose assassination marked the overthrow of the Goryeo); Seonjuk Bridge (where Chung was assassinated) and Pyochung Monuments (shrine to honor Chung); the Mausoleum of King Wanggeon with associated Seven Tombs Cluster and Myongrung Tombs Cluster; and the Mausoleum of King Gongmin.

It is the second listing for North Korea because a complex of ancient tombs from Goguryeo, a previous kingdom, won heritage status in 2004. The listed remains related to Korean history can be added up to 13 including 10 in South Korea, two in North Korea, and one in China.

North Korea applied for heritage status for Kaesong in 2007 but the World Heritage Committee did not accept it in 2008. After a second attempt last year, it won the status. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory body to UNESCO, said in its due diligence report, “The relics in Kaesong imply the political, cultural, ideological, and spiritual values during the period when the Goryeo Dynasty moved Buddhism to Confucianism.”