Suncheon-si, Fully Committed to Strengthening UNESCO City Brand Competitiveness

Systematization of World Heritage Registration and Preservation Management

Winter view of Seungseon Bridge at Seonamsa Temple in Suncheon (Photo by Suncheon City)

[Suncheon=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] On the 1st, Suncheon City in Jeollanam-do established the Cultural Heritage Division, the only one in Jeollanam-do.

On the 25th, Suncheon City announced that it will brand itself as a UNESCO city and manage it systematically, befitting a city that simultaneously possesses UNESCO World Cultural Heritage and Natural Heritage.

Suncheon is the third city in the country with the most nationally designated and registered cultural assets.

In 2018, Korea’s mountain temple ‘Seonamsa’ was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage, and last year, Korea’s tidal flats including Suncheon Bay were registered as a World Natural Heritage.

Adding to this, the entire area of Suncheon City was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2018, making it a city with three UNESCO crowns.

This year, under the vision of “A cultural heritage city nurtured and enjoyed with citizens through past, present, and future,” the city plans to promote cultural heritage policies aimed at enhancing Suncheon’s brand value, preserving and utilizing cultural heritage intact, and expanding citizens’ opportunities to enjoy culture.

To spread the UNESCO World Heritage city brand, the city will implement projects such as symbolizing the UNESCO city, maintaining World Heritage guide signs throughout the city, producing World Heritage content and integrated promotion, and promoting lifestyle-oriented publicity using various media.

Through strengthening networks and cooperation among UNESCO cities, the city will research management plans for sustainable preservation of World Heritage, and promote public projects such as the ‘World Heritage Festival’ utilizing World Heritage, enabling citizens to enjoy and utilize World Heritage.

‘Nagan Eupseong,’ listed on the tentative list of World Heritage, will be promoted to be registered as World Heritage as a joint and linked heritage by establishing a network connected with Korean fortress towns.

Additionally, based on Suncheon’s literary assets, which produced outstanding writers such as Kim Seung-ok, Jeong Chae-bong, and Jo Jung-rae, and holds the record for the most simultaneous publications by residents of a single local government, the city will pursue designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Literature.

Furthermore, through various cultural enjoyment programs such as ▲upgrading the Jeongyu War battle sites to national historic sites, ▲regeneration of modern historical and cultural spaces around Maesan Peak, ▲cultural heritage preservation projects including disaster prevention facilities and safety management enhancement, ▲compilation of Suncheon City history, ▲return of ancestral tombs, ▲cultural heritage night events, and vivid cultural heritage utilization projects, the city plans to share Suncheon’s history and spirit with its citizens.

A Cultural Heritage Division official stated, “We will widely promote that Suncheon City simultaneously possesses UNESCO World Natural Heritage and Cultural Heritage to solidify the city’s World Heritage brand,” and added, “We will provide opportunities for cultural enjoyment so that everyone can enjoy and share the region’s diverse cultural heritage, and do our best for sustainable cultural heritage preservation and management.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.