UNESCO named three local sites World Natural Heritage in 2007. Local officials now want to get five more Jeju locations added to that list. Mike Laidman reports.
[Slug]
3 local sites listed by UNESCO in 2007

Three Korean sites, all located on Jeju Island, were recognised for the first time by UNESCO in 2007. These were Hallasan Mountain, (거문오름) Geomunoreum, and (성산) Seongsan Sunrise Peak.

[Slug]
Jeju to seek more World Natural Heritage designations

The recognition has gone a long way to letting the world know about Jeju.

And now, the province is seeking more World Natural Heritage designations.

The Geological Society of Korea studied the feasibility of the idea, as requested by the World Heritage and Mt. Hallasan Research institutes.

Preliminary results showed that five sites are quite likely to receive the designation.

[Slug]
5 candidate sites

The five potential sites are the caves in the upper region of Geomunoreum, Suwolbong in Gosan-ri, Chagwido and Socheongul Cave in Hallim-eup, and the Yongmeori Coast.

The preliminary results were made based on the universal, academic, and scenic value of the sites, as well as their uniqueness, availability of legal protection measures, and the degree of support they enjoy from locals.

INTERVIEW
Son Yeong-gwan / Senior researcher, Geological Society of Korea
We must consider academic value. First, we chose sites with universal academic value. Another condition to consider was the degree of support from locals. We’ve now ended up with a list of five candidate sites.
<인터뷰:손영관/책임연구원>
"가장 중요한 것이 학술적 가치입니다. 학술적 가치가 소위 탁월한 보편적가치(OUV)를 입증하는데 전혀 문제가 없을 만한 지역을 먼저 선정하고 마지막으로 주민들의 이용까지 고려해서 최종 다섯 군데를 선정하게 됐습니다."

[Slug]
Sites in western Jeju on the candidate list

Also this time, sites located on the western side of the island have been included.

The research team is expecting balanced designations between regions since the existing UNESCO sites all lie in the middle or to the east of the island.

INTERVIEW
Go Jeong-gun / Researcher, World Heritage/Mt. Hallasan Research Inst.
The UNESCO-designated sites of Seongsan Sunrise Peak and Manganggul Cave are in the east of the island. Suwolbong and Chagwido, two candidate sites, are in western Jeju and could contribute to regional balance in these international designations.
<인터뷰:고정군/세계유산한라산연구원 박사>
"이번 추가 지정되고 있는 지역이 고산 수월봉과 차귀도 등 제주 서부지역에 포함되기 때문에 일출봉과 만장굴 등에 국한된 동부지역의 세계자연유산 범주가 제주 전역으로 광역화된다는데 큰 의미를 찾을 수 있다고 봅니다."

Camera
Ko Moon-su

Reporter
Mike Laidman

The province will finalize its list of candidate sites by October and submit it to the Cultural Heritage Administration, which will then apply for UNESCO designations.

After the application is made, the IUCN, or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, will review the documents and its specialists will visit Jeju for an on-site inspection. The whole procedure is expected to take roughly two years.

Mike Laidman KCTV