UNESCO approves major expansion of Korea's tidal flats World Heritage site

BUSAN — A UNESCO committee approved a major expansion to Korea’s "Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats" World Heritage site on Saturday, adding four key coastal regions to bolster protection for endangered migratory birds and marine life. The decision by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, meeting for its 48th session in Busan, adopts a significant boundary modification for the natural heritage property first inscribed in 2021, which originally covered four zones: Gochang, Boseong-Suncheon and Sinan in Jeolla provinces and Seocheon in South Chungcheong Province. The Phase 2 expansion incorporates crucial tidal flats in Yeosu, Goheung and Muan in South Jeolla Province, as well as Seosan in South Chungcheong Province.

The World Heritage Committee recognized that the tidal flats satisfy the World Heritage criterion for the conservation of biodiversity and endangered species. In particular, it highly valued the natural heritage site for contributing to the conservation of internationally important migratory waterbirds and diverse marine life as a key habitat within the West Sea ecosystem and the