Banners for the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee hang inside the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) in Busan on Sunday, ahead of the annual meeting's opening ceremony. (Yonhap) South Korea on Sunday opened the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Busan, hosting the annual gathering for the first time since joining the World Heritage Convention in 1988.About 3,000 delegates from the convention's 196 states, international organizations and nongovernmental groups were expected to attend the 10-day meeting at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center. It is the world's largest international meeting on World Heritage inscription, conservation and management. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay is set to attend alongside senior UNESCO officials, while former South Korean ambassador to UNESCO Lee Byong-hyun chairs the session.The committee, UNESCO's principal decision-making body on World Heritage, comprises representatives from 21 elected member states. During the session, members will review the conservation status of existing World Heritage sites, examine nominations for 30 new sites, and consider proposals concerning three already on the list. Among them is Korea's bid to expand its "Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats" World Heritage property by adding four coastal wetlands.The committee is also expected to review a draft decision urging Japan to better reflect the "whole history" of the Sado mine World Heritage site, including the wartime mobilization of Korean laborers during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. The draft says Japan's follow-up measures remain insufficient despite commitments made when the site was inscribed last year. The K-Heritage House at BEXCO is prepared ahead of the opening ceremony of the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Busan on Sunday. The house will operate throughout the committee session from July 20-29. (Yonhap) Korea also plans to use the meeting to advance international cooperation in heritage protection.As host, it will propose the "Busan Declaration," calling for stronger global collaboration in safeguarding World Heritage. The proposal would expand UNESCO's "5C" strategic objectives — credibility, conservation, capacity-building, communication and communities — by adding a sixth principle: collaboration.In an earlier interview with The Korea Herald, Korea Heritage Service Administrator Huh Min said the initiative reflects the growing need for collective action as World Heritage sites face mounting threats from armed conflict, climate change and other global crises.The meeting comes as Korean cultural heritage attracts growing international attention alongside the global popularity of K-pop, films and television dramas.Throughout the session, the K-Heritage House — an exhibition space roughly twice the size of a soccer field — will feature 35 participating organizations across 45 booths, offering performances, exhibitions, craft demonstrations and culinary experiences that showcase the breadth of Korean heritage.The opening ceremony was also set to begin with cultural performances, with G-Dragon attending as the meeting's honorary ambassador. The singer is also an honorary chair of the JusPeace Foundation, the nonprofit that launched a public fundraising campaign for the World Heritage Fund in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.