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Overview of Properties on the World Heritage List

The Korea Foundation Cultural Center presents its Regular Cultural Lecture Series on the World Heritage from September 9 through December 2, 2010. Professor Lee Sang-hae, the first speaker of the lecture series, presented an informative lecture on the “World Heritage System and its Operational Guidelines” to provide an overview of the World Heritage program.

“World Heritage” involves cultural, natural, and combined (cultural/natural) properties which are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their “outstanding universal value.” These resources thus deserve to be carefully preserved for the appreciation of all people of the world, without regard to country, physical ownership, and generation. Properties on the World Heritage List can be thought of as being a microcosm of the world’s environment and human history since the list includes such heritage resources as natural phenomena, archaeological relics, historic cities, ancient dwelling sites and towns, monumental architecture, and cultural landscapes of a wide variety of cultural spheres and regions.
The World Heritage system is rooted in the World Heritage Convention that was adopted by UNESCO in 1972. It is implemented in accordance with the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, which reflects the principles of the Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments (1931) and the Venice Charter (1964). The World Heritage Committee has held an annual session since 1978 to decide on additional designations to the World Heritage List. As of August 2010, a total of 911 properties in 148 countries are included on the list, related to 704 cultural, 180 natural, and 27 combined resources.



World Heritage System
One of the fundamental reasons for UNESCO’s efforts to implement the World Heritage system has been an urgent need for the peoples of the world to collectively maintain cultural and natural heritage resources, for purposes that transcend the interests of individual countries, owners, and generations. UNESCO felt the need for such a cooperative endeavor and established the system of World Heritage due to the following factors. First, it is related to the process of Western world’s emergence as a scientific, industrialized, and modernized society. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the West was transformed into a “new society,” totally different from the past as a result of the scientific and industrial revolutions. It thus became imperative for people to pay attention to the preservation and protection of historic properties d by people during the lengthy course of human history, which were alarmingly being demolished, damaged, or discarded.
By the 19th century, active movements began to emerge in Western society calling for the protection of the historic heritage of mankind. Beginning in the 20th century, the preservation of world heritage resources emerged as a common issue that required international cooperation. The protection and preservation of world heritage resources became an issue that needed to be discussed by all people and countries as numerous heritages had been destroyed and seriously damaged during the course of World War I and II.
Related to this process, there was an incident that prompted the immediate implementation of the World Heritage system. In 1960, the Nasser administration of Egypt announced plans to build the Aswan High Dam along the upper Nile as a flood prevention measure; however, the dam project threatened to submerge ancient Egyptian relics, including the Abu Simbel temple structures. International organizations, including UNESCO, and individual intellectuals and experts from across the world called on the Egyptian government to stop the dam construction project, but these pleas were not accepted by Egypt. As a result, UNESCO launched the World Heritage system to help preserve invaluable heritage resources for the posterity of all mankind.



Qualifications and Procedures
For inclusion on the World Heritage List, a property must possess “outstanding universal value,” which is “so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for the present and future generations of all humanity.” Properties with importance at the national or regional level are not necessarily deemed to possess “outstanding universal value.” The criteria of such outstanding universal value are outlined in the Operational Guidelines for the World Heritage Convention, which specify ten selection factors.In addition, properties must satisfy requirements related to authenticity and integrity to be considered for designation.
All properties on the World Heritage List must include legislative, regulatory, and institutional protection and management to properly maintain and improve their outstanding universal value, authenticity, and integrity. The relevant country must set up and delineate boundaries of the World Heritage property and maintain buffer zones to protect properties on the World Heritage List. Boundaries of a World Heritage property refer to the area around a World Heritage site, while buffer zones involve the surrounding areas. Restrictions are imposed on the usage and development of nearby lands and buildings to effectively protect the World Heritage property.

Lecture Presentations

9.09 World Heritage System and
Its Operational Guidelines
9.16 World Heritage of the Origin of Mankind
9.30 Cultural Relics in North Africa
10.07 World Heritage in Greece
10.14 Ancient Egyptian Civilization Seen through Relics
10.21 Heritage of Mayan Civilization: Palenque and Chichen Itza
10.28 Medieval Church Architecture
11.04 Architectural Heritage in Spain
11.11 Biblical Relics and Culture in Israel
11.18 Inca Civilization in the Andes
11.25 Relics of Roman Empire
12.02 Cultural Heritage in Turkey: Coexistence of Europe and Asia,
Christianity and Islam, and Ancient and Present

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