Korea's Looking to Add to UNESCO Sites, Is Dokdo Next?
Korea is looking to add their first natural heritage site recognized by the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization:
On Jeju Island, there are many nominees up for world heritage recognition, like the nature reservations, caves, and tuff cones in Mt. Halla. Because of the fantastic geographical features created by breathtaking scenery and volcanic activity, the preservation value of its environment is high. Last October, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and National Resources (IUCN), the consultative body of the World Heritage Committee, visited Jeju and finished its research. Shim Mi-hwa of the Korean UNESCO committee says, We cannot say for 100 percent certain that it will be chosen, but last year the committee rated the place very highly and theres a good possibility.
I think it would be great if one of the natural features on Cheju Island receives World Heritage recognition, but in my opinion I find Soraksan National Park as being a better candidate for World Heritage recognition. I find Sorak Mountain more scenic than lets say Halla Mountain on Cheju plus their much more cultural sites surrounding Sorak Mountain than Halla Mountain. The Korean authorities have had Sorak Mountain on the tentative UNESCO list since 1994 and added Cheju Island sites in 2002. So it appears the Korean government has given up on listing Sorak Mountain because it has been pending for so long and focusing on getting Cheju listed instead.
Since Koreans like to compare themselves to Japan let me pose this comparison. In my opinion the Sorak Mountain wilderness is just as spectacular the Shirakami-sanchi Mountains in Japan that are listed as being a World Heritage area. Both areas are of nearly equal size (Sorak -163km2, Shirakami-170km2), both have important cultural history, and both protect an environment unique to their countries. So how come Sorak Mountain hasn’t been listed after all these years? In my opinion is probably because natural beauty is not the first thing that comes to mind when people working at the UN who make these decisions think of Korea when compared to Japan. That is why I hope Korea at least gets one natural feature cited to begin to shift this stereotype because the Korean mountains really are beautiful and under appreciated.
Now the really bold move that I would love to see the Korean government try, is to list Ulleongdo and Dokdo islands as World Heritage protected areas. Ulleongdo island is one of the most beautiful areas in Korea and Dokdo islets are not really beautiful, but are unusual. Additionally, a World Heritage nomination for Ulleongdo and Dokdo would be a way to resolve the whole Dokdo nonsense between Korean and Japan. A claim I have often heard from Koreans is that the UN is biased against Korea because Japan gives so much money to the UN. That claim is very weak when the UN is one of the most notable anti-American organizations out there and the US gives more money than any other country to the UN. Plus the new UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean which totally debunks the biased UN claim. So now is the time to try to list Dokdo.
This wouldn’t be the first time an area has been given UNESCO recognition that was controversial. Look no further than the ancient Korean kingdom of Koguryo enshrined by China in 2004. The claiming of the Koguryo kingdom by China has been hotly contested by Korean scholars and UNESCO enshrined it anyway in the name of China. What better way than UNESCO recognition to settle the Dokdo dispute? No more talk about old, inaccurate maps, no more ex-pats losing their jobs over disputing Dokdo ownership, no more people chopping off their fingers, no more bee man, no more disrespecting Japanese flags by Korean politicians, just generally no more wackiness over Dokdo. However, I don’t see it happening because Korean politicians don’t want to settle the Dokdo issue just like they don’t want to settle the Yongsan Garrison issue either, because it provides them an issue that is easy to manipulate to promote nationalism within the general Korean population to their own political advantage.
'unesco enshrined koguryeo in the name of china anyway….'
uh, what they did is recognize sites that sit on both sides of the border. nowhere in your link does unesco call koguryeo a chinese kingdom. they took the smart road by not getting involved with that hot potato.
btw, koguryeo is korean.
Given the volatile nature of the topic, historians with reputations are often loath to comment on this issue. But I have talked to two historians of eminent (even pre-eminent) reputation, one Korean expert and the other a Sinologist. They have both told me that 1) they view Koguryo as more Korean than Chinese, while Pohai is more Mohe than Koguryo-an; 2) their views represent a fairly overwhelming consensus in the Western scholarly community.
In sum, albeit both parties are guilty of anachronistic constructions or reconsutrctions of their history, Korea would have been on solid(er) ground if they limited their claims to Koguryo. Of course, being an immodrate bunch, they extended their original reasonable claims and incorporated outlandish claims regarding Pohai and even Gando–transforming an argument where they were (for once!) in the right in matters of history into an argument where they again appear as lunatics.
Good going.
By the way, what you see in English media is really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the madness that is Korean historical revisionism or delusion. If you pore through Korean historical forums, you will frequently see people insisting (with widespread agreement) that Temujin, Nurhaci (the founder ot the Ching who is known as "Kim Nueul" in Korean!), and even Tang Taizong were Korean. Or watch Korean videos. For instance, in the SBS drama "Yeon Gaesomun," the main Koguryo characters incessantly refer to China as "seotoh" (Western land, meaning "our" Western land), and insist that Gojoseon spanned from the Russian Siberia to Tibet!
Excelent information. Best wishes from New York.t
Dokdo? you mean Takeshima or the liancourt rocks?
Isn't the whole "Dokdo/Takeshima/Liancourt Rocks" controversy about fishing rights?
Maybe they can make the same deal with the Japs that they made with the Norks?
There is NOTHING in Korea that merits a UNESCO listing. Everyone knows all the "palaces" were built in the 70's. Their Kings used outhouses and had dirt floors.
Kings with a dirt floor palace! KINGS INDEED!!
There is nothing in Korea that is actually ancient or beautiful.
"ancient Korean kingdom of Koguryo "
Why is it Korean? Because Koreans say so? According to Korenas China and Japan come from Korea. For Koguryo to be an anciet korean kingdom, that would imply that the customs and traditions of Kouryo were somehow passed on to Korea. Things like language, religion and actual genetics too. But none of that is true.
The "art" of Koguryo can be found in East China (and it predates koguryo). The language is more similar to ancient Japanese.
What Modern Korea has done, is found anything they can that supports their "korean history theory" and discard the wealth of information that disputes that ancient Kogoryo has anything to do with "Korea".
Shattered,
Bla, bla, bla bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla ….
Stop drinking.
The Korean doesn't like it when I remind him of his "culture" LOL.
Kings with a dirt floor palace and an outhouse! KINGS INDEED!! LOL
[…] Korean government’s effort to list various areas such as Cheju Island as UNESCO World Heritage areas is something I strongly support because it gives the government strong motivation to preserve these […]
Shattered, you are an idiot. Don't tell people that you are from the U.S., as you would only fuel the Korean anti-U.S. sentiment.