Final Review D-3 ... Gaya Tumuli, Strong Candidate for World Heritage Listing

The seven ancient burial mound clusters representing the ancient kingdom of Gaya, which existed in the southern Korean Peninsula from the 1st to the 6th century, are approaching the final evaluation for inscription as a World Cultural Heritage site.

Gyeongnam Province announced that the inscription of the Gaya Burial Mound Clusters as a World Cultural Heritage site is expected to be finalized at the 45th World Heritage Committee meeting, scheduled to be held around the 17th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Daeseong-dong Tumuli Complex, Gimhae, Gyeongnam. [Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

The province anticipates that with the upcoming inscription of the Gaya Burial Mound Clusters, which demonstrate the historical value of Gaya, the Gaya cultural area will be reappraised globally as Gaya in the world.

Over the past decade, the province has continued efforts including selecting candidates for inscription and submitting applications, starting in 2013 with the Cultural Heritage Administration’s tentative list registration application for the Gimhae Daeseong-dong Burial Mound Cluster and the Haman Malsan Burial Mound Cluster.

To achieve the final result, representatives will attend the World Heritage Committee meeting on the 17th where the evaluation will take place.

Malisan Tumuli Cluster, Haman, Gyeongnam.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

The seven burial mound clusters under review include five sites in Gyeongnam: ▲Gimhae Daeseong-dong Burial Mound Cluster ▲Haman Malsan Burial Mound Cluster ▲Changnyeong Gyodong and Songhyeon-dong Burial Mound Clusters ▲Goseong Songhak-dong Burial Mound Cluster ▲Hapcheon Okjeon Burial Mound Cluster, as well as the Jisan-dong Burial Mound Cluster in Goryeong, Gyeongbuk, and the Yugok-ri and Durak-ri Burial Mound Clusters in Namwon, Jeonbuk.

According to the province, the Gaya Burial Mound Clusters meet the World Heritage evaluation criteria of being the sole or at least unique evidence of an existing or vanished cultural tradition or civilization.

Gyeongnam Changnyeong Gyodong and Songhyeon-dong Burial Mounds.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

In May, the Gaya Burial Mound Clusters also received a recommendation for inscription from ICOMOS, the advisory body to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, making their inscription highly likely.

They are considered important relics that well represent a unique ancient East Asian civilization which maintained a political confederation system while coexisting with other strongly centralized East Asian states.

Songhakdong Tumuli Cluster, Goseong, Gyeongnam.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

If the Gaya Burial Mound Clusters are finally selected this time, they will become South Korea’s sixteenth World Heritage site.

In Gyeongnam, this will be the fourth site following Haeinsa Janggyeong Panjeon designated in 1995, Tongdosa Temple in 2018, and Namgye Seowon in 2019.

Okjeon Ancient Tombs, Hapcheon, Gyeongnam.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

Gyeongnam Province plans to actively preserve and manage the burial mound clusters and their artifacts once they are inscribed as World Heritage sites.

Cha Seok-ho, Director of the Culture, Tourism and Sports Bureau of the province, said, “Having prepared with passion over a long time, we firmly believe that the Gaya Burial Mound Clusters will definitely be inscribed as a World Heritage site. We will take this opportunity to inform the world of the historical value of the Gaya Burial Mound Clusters and preserve and utilize them as cultural heritage sites visited by people worldwide.”

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