A tidal flat in Muan, South Jeolla Province / Korea Times photo by Choi Heung-soo
Four tidal flats in southern Korea have received a recommendation for inscription on UNESCO's World Heritage List from an international advisory body, the Korea Heritage Service (KHS) said Friday, in a positive development for the Korean government ahead of the World Heritage Committee's session in Busan in July.
Korea's tidal flats, also known as "getbol," were first inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2021. Since then, the government has sought to expand the site by adding four additional tidal flats — in Yeosu, Goheung and Muan in South Jeolla Province, and Seosan in South Chungcheong Province — to the existing World Heritage tidal flats in Gochang in North Jeolla Province, Seocheon in South Chungcheong Province, and Boseong and Suncheon in South Jeolla Province.
According to the KHS, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) concluded that Korean Tidal Flats Phase II satisfies the World Heritage criterion for biodiversity conservation and the protection of threatened species, and recommended the World Heritage Committee approve a major boundary modification to the existing World Heritage site.
