Overview
- UNESCO's World Heritage Committee approved the Phase II expansion of the Korean getbol on Saturday, July 25, 2026, adding four coastal wetlands to the existing inscription.
- The newly inscribed areas are Seosan in South Chungcheong Province and Goheung, Muan and Yeosu in South Jeolla Province.
- The overall World Heritage property will be reorganized into six component zones that group Boseong-Suncheon with Goheung and Yeosu, pair Sinan with Tando Bay in Muan, and list Hamhae Bay, Gochang, Seocheon and Seosan separately.
- UNESCO cited the sites' complex geological, oceanographic and climatological processes and high biodiversity — reports note about 2,150 species including 22 globally threatened or near-threatened species — as the basis for inscription.
- The expansion follows an IUCN recommendation and increases South Korea's UNESCO sites to 17, a change that is likely to affect conservation funding, management duties, tourism and rules governing traditional harvesting by coastal communities.