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Namhansanseong Fortress Newly Registered as a UNESCO World Heritage

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Friday, June 27th, 2014
SEOUL, KOREA - The UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to enlist Korea's Namhansanseong, or literally meaning "South Han Mountain Fortress," as a World Heritage site. The Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea said on June 22 that the World Heritage Committee decided to give the World Heritage status to the Korean mountain fortress during its 38th assembly being held at Doha, Qatar, from June 15 to 25.
 
Designed as an interim capital for the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) near Seoul, Namhansanseong is an excellent example of a fortified city built by Buddhist soldier-monks. The mountain fortress and its surroundings have witnessed and experienced a long period of development as a military garrison and it facilitates a better understanding of different styles and techniques of fortress construction.
 
The fortress has about 200 historic sites and buildings, including Haenggung, a temporary palace where Joseon kings stayed during their trips out of Seoul and wars. Especially, the committee highly praised that the fortress embodies a synthesis of the defensive military engineering concepts of the period, based on Chinese and Japanese influences, and changes in the art of fortification following the introduction from the West of weapons using gunpowder. 
 
It also added that the fortress has always been inhabited, and which was the provincial capital over a long period, it contains evidence of a variety of military, civil and religious and has become a symbol of Korean sovereignty. By the designation, the fortress can be supported by the UNESCO World Heritage Center technically and financially.
 
An official at the Cultural Heritage Administration said, "Because the committee recommended regulating any excessive development near the area and encouraging local residents to participate in preserving and managing the heritage site, we will work with related local governments and other groups to set up systematic measures to protect and promote the country's cultural asset."
 
SOURCE : The Korea Economic Daily

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