"Petroglyphs of Bangucheon Stream are the pride of Ulsan" Cheers and applause from Ulsan delegation

【Financial News Ulsan=Choi Su-sang Reporter】 The prehistoric masterpiece 'Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream' left in the Bangucheon area of Ulsan has been finally inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage.
According to Ulsan City on the 13th, the Petroglyphs of Bangucheon Stream were listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List at the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Paris, France, on the 12th.
Upon confirmation of the inscription, Kim Du-gyeom, Mayor of Ulsan, and Lee Sun-geol, Chief of Ulju-gun, who attended the meeting, shared the historic moment and received support and congratulations from various member countries.
Ulsan City plans to strengthen international promotion, as well as systematic preservation and utilization measures, taking the inscription of the Bangucheon Petroglyphs as a World Heritage as an opportunity.
Kim Du-gyeom, Mayor of Ulsan, said, “The Petroglyphs of Bangucheon Stream are the pride of Ulsan and a precious heritage representing prehistoric culture on the Korean Peninsula,” adding, “Ulsan will now strive to promote and preserve its value as a cultural city embracing World Heritage.”
The 'Petroglyphs of Bangucheon Stream' is a single heritage that includes the national treasures 'Ulsan Cheonjeon-ri Inscriptions and Petroglyphs' and 'Ulsan Daegok-ri Bangudae Petroglyphs', covering approximately 3 km of the designated scenic area of Bangucheon.
In particular, this inscription is significant as it is the 17th World Heritage (15 cultural heritages, 2 natural heritages) possessed by Korea, and the oldest heritage in our country.
The inscription process was not easy. After being listed on the World Heritage Tentative List in 2010, it underwent meticulous investigation and preparation over the past 15 years, strict examination by ICOMOS, the advisory and evaluation body of the World Heritage Center and UNESCO, and on-site inspections. As a result, it received a 'recommendation for inscription' evaluation in May this year, and the final inscription decision was made this time.

The World Heritage Committee evaluated the 'Petroglyphs of Bangucheon Stream' as  "a masterpiece that demonstrates the artistic creativity of prehistoric people, with realistic drawings and unique compositions based on excellent observation, depicting rare themes of various whales and major stages of whaling."
It also evaluated it as "a unique evidence proving the tradition of petroglyphs that continued for about 6000 years from prehistoric times, and comprehensively showing the cultural development of people in the southeastern coastal region of the Korean Peninsula."




ulsan@fnnews.com Choi Su-sang Reporter