'Yeonmaeng' Value Demonstration Gaya Tumuli, Korea's Sixteenth World Heritage Site (Comprehensive Report 2)

A Decade After Being Listed on the 2013 Tentative World Heritage List: A Great Achievement
World Heritage Committee: "Evidence Showing the Diversity of Ancient East Asian Civilizations"
Cultural Heritage Administration: "Securing Privately Owned Sites to Establish a Heritage Protection System"

The ‘Gaya Tumuli,’ a collection of seven Gaya archaeological sites, will be managed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. On the 17th (local time), the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to inscribe the Gaya Tumuli on the World Heritage List at a meeting held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Gaya Tumuli is a serial heritage site that combines seven burial mound clusters that existed in Yeongnam and Honam regions from the 1st century to the mid-6th century. It consists of the Jisandong Burial Mounds in Goryeong, Gyeongbuk; Daeseongdong Burial Mounds in Gimhae, Gyeongnam; Maliyasan Burial Mounds in Haman; Gyodong and Songhyeondong Burial Mounds in Changnyeong; Songhakdong Burial Mounds in Goseong; Okjeon Burial Mounds in Hapcheon; and Yugok-ri and Durak-ri Burial Mounds in Namwon, Jeonbuk. All are designated national historic sites.

The burial mound clusters are evaluated as relics that prove the establishment, development, and identity of Gaya culture. Gaya is a collective term for small states that flourished mainly around the Nakdong River basin from around the beginning of the Common Era until 562 AD. It is widely known for Geumgwan Gaya located in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, Daegaya in Goryeong, Gyeongbuk, and Ara Gaya in Haman. They maintained a unique political system called a ‘confederacy’ while coexisting with surrounding centralized ancient states. The burial mounds are important traces that demonstrate that civilization.

The World Heritage Committee evaluated that “it is recognized for its ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ as it maintains an autonomous and horizontal unique system with neighboring countries and serves as important evidence showing the diversity of ancient East Asian civilizations.” The Cultural Heritage Administration explained, “Through the structure, scale, and composition of the pottery buried, one can glimpse the unity and geographical range of the Gaya confederacy,” adding, “Funeral customs, systems, and pottery styles that show regional characteristics by political entity also remain.”

A representative example is the ‘wisepum (威勢品),’ which were prestige goods bestowed to incorporate local powers into one’s sphere of influence while elevating the status of the leader. They show an equal level, indicating that each political entity had autonomy and maintained a horizontal relationship. The Cultural Heritage Administration emphasized, “It meets one of the criteria for World Heritage inscription, which is ‘the only or at least the most outstanding evidence of an existing or vanished cultural tradition or civilization,’” and added, “It is an important footprint showing the diversity of ancient East Asian civilizations.”

The Gaya Tumuli was listed on the tentative World Heritage list in 2013. The application was submitted to UNESCO in 2021, and after on-site inspections by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a UNESCO advisory and evaluation body, it received a ‘recommendation for inscription’ in May. The Cultural Heritage Administration evaluated this achievement after 10 years as “a valuable result achieved through cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Korea to UNESCO, relevant local governments, and the Gaya Tumuli World Heritage Inscription Promotion Team.” Moving forward, they plan to secure privately owned land within the burial mound clusters to establish a heritage protection system, develop promotional strategies, and conduct integrated monitoring. They also intend to mitigate the impact caused by the road running between the Gyodong and Songhyeondong Burial Mounds in Changnyeong, Gyeongnam.

With this inscription, the number of World Heritage sites held by Korea has increased to sixteen, including Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple, Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, Jongmyo Shrine (all in 1995), Changdeokgung Palace, Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon (both in 1997), Gyeongju Historic Areas, Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites (all in 2000), Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes (2007), Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty (2009), Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong (2010), Namhansanseong Fortress (2014), Baekje Historic Areas (2015), Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea (2018), and Korean Seowon (Confucian Academies) (2019).

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