40 Royal Tombs Listed as World Heritage Site

Forty royal tombs from the Chosun Dynasty have been newly listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Korea's ninth. The 33rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Seville, Spain last Friday decided to accept Korea's application for listing the group of tombs.

The committee said it recognized the value of the tombs with their unique construction method and landscaping under the Confucian principles and inspired by geomancy. The tombs deserve being listed because historical tradition has been passed down through intangible heritage including ceremonial rituals and all the tombs have been carefully preserved and managed, it added.

The Chosun tombs are those of 27 Chosun kings and their wives, and posthumous honorary king s and their wives.

Other UNESCO World Heritage sites in Korean are Seokguram Grotto and Bulguk Temple, Haein Temple Janggyeong Panjeon -- the depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks -- and Jongmyo Shrine, listed in 1995; Changdeok Palace and Hwaseong Fortress, designated in 1997; the Gyeongju historical areas and the Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa dolmen sites, listed in 2000; and the Jeju volcanic island and lava tubes, listed in 2007.