'Seowon' to be on heritage list

Confucian academies recommended for World Heritage Site

Confucian academies of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, or "seowon," are certain to gain worldwide recognition. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) of UNESCO has recommended nine of the existing academies to be listed as World Heritage Sites.

The World Heritage Committee of the U.N. organization will make a final decision on the recommendation in its regular meeting June 30 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Experts expect the committee to accept the ICOMOS suggestion, given past cases.

If seowon successfully make it onto the World Heritage list, the nation will have a total of 14 World Heritage sites, including Bulguk Temple in Gyeongju, the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom, and Changdeok Palace in central Seoul. Seowon were established to honor renowned Confucian scholars and educate young people.

The nine academies include Sosu Seowon in Yeongju, Namgye Seowon in Hamyang, Oksan Seowon in Gyeongju, Dosan Seowon in Andong, Pilam Seowon in Jangseong, and Museong Seowon in Jeongeup.

The expected addition of seowon to the UNESCO list means that the value of the nation's diverse historical and cultural remains are being recognized globally one after another. This indicates that we have to better preserve and hand down to the next generations these cultural assets.

ICOMOS already asked the nation to come up with comprehensive plans to preserve the nine Confucian academies scattered across the country. It cannot be overemphasized that the related authorities, including the Cultural Heritage Administration, have to work out better programs to preserve the historical sites on the basis of thorough research, while learning from previous failures in preserving historical sites.

The Confucian academies, if put on the World Heritage List, will attract more foreign and local tourists and boost the tourism industry. The government and the local administrations are required to introduce diverse programs to turn the historical sites into education centers for young people to experience the spiritual culture of Confucian scholars.