Baekje Dynasty Historic Sites (World Heritage)
With the appointment of outstanding sites of the Baekje dynasty, UNESCO is dedicating itself to the heyday of ancient Korea in the 5th and 6th centuries, when a lively exchange with China and Japan marked the height of the Baekje empire.
According to traditional Korean history, the Baekje empire in the southwest of the Korean peninsula was founded in 18 BC. Founded. Together with Koguryŏ and Silla, it dominated Korea before being subdued by Silla in 663.
The places selected as World Heritage Sites date from AD 475 to 660. These are the historical areas of the former capitals Buyeo, Gongju and Iksan, including a fortress, royal tombs, palaces and temples. They testify to the spread of Buddhism as well as to the Chinese role models in art and culture.
Baekje Dynasty Historic Sites: Facts
| Official title: | Baekje Dynasty Historic Sites |
| Cultural monument: | Architectural and cultural examples from the heyday of the Korean Baekje dynasty between the 5th and 7th centuries AD, including the Gongsanseong Fortress in Gongju, the royal palace in Wanggung-ri and the royal tombs in Songsan-ri and Neungsan-ri (in Buyeo); also various pavilions, shrines, temples and pagodas |
| Continent: | Asia |
| Country: | South Korea |
| Location: | West of south korea |
| Appointment: | 2015 |
| Meaning: | UNESCO emphasizes the importance of the sites as an interface of technological, religious, cultural and artistic exchange between the early East Asian kingdoms in Korea, China and Japan. |
Namhansanseong Mountain Fortress (World Heritage)
The origins of Namhansanseong go back to the 7th century, but the mountain fortress 25 km southeast of Seoul only gained its real importance as a kind of alternative capital for the Korean Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). Namhansanseong was expanded several times in anticipation of an attack by the Sino-Manchurian Qing dynasty, most notably in the early 17th century. The fortress performed important administrative and military functions at that time. 4,000 people were able to find shelter in its huge walls.
In its appreciation of this site, UNESCO emphasizes that the mountain fortress represented a synthesis of defensive military technology of Japanese-Chinese origin on the one hand and the introduction of western concepts – above all the introduction of weapons with gunpowder – on the other. At the same time, Namhansanseong is also considered to be a continuously inhabited city for centuries, with traces of a multitude of military, civil and religious buildings as a symbol of Korean sovereignty according to hyperrestaurant.
Namhansanseong Mountain Fortress: Facts
| Official title: | Namhansanseong Mountain Fortress |
| Cultural monument: | Extensive mountain fortress with numerous military, civil and religious buildings that have been built over centuries and have been used continuously |
| Continent: | Asia |
| Country: | South Korea |
| Location: | 25 km southeast of Seoul |
| Appointment: | 2014 |
| Meaning: | Exceptional example of a fortified city and a symbol of Korean sovereignty |
Historic Villages: Hahoe and Yangdong (World Heritage)
Hahoe and Yangdong’s history dates back to the 14th century. They are the most representative clan villages of the early Choson dynasty. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the villages and their surroundings, ideal for Confucian culture, were hailed by poets.
Historic Villages: Hahoe and Yangdong: Facts
| Official title: | Historic Villages: Hahoe and Yangdong |
| Cultural monument: | Village complexes of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) in Southeast Korea founded in the 14th and 15th centuries and expanded into the 18th and 19th centuries; Settlement structure strictly oriented towards clan structures and the Confucian principle, embedded between the protective mountain slopes in the back and the river as well as the cultivated fields; Houses of the upper class in the middle of the villages including buildings for religious, meditation and study purposes, around that clay dwellings of the simple residents are grouped with thatched roofs |
| Continent: | Asia |
| Country: | South Korea |
| Location: | Yangdong and Hahoe, Southeast Korea |
| Appointment: | 2010 |
| Meaning: | Exceptional evidence of an integrated settlement oriented towards social structures; outstanding examples of an early targeted design of the village habitat |
Sansa, Buddhist mountain monasteries in Korea (world heritage)
Sansa, Buddhist mountain monasteries in Korea (world heritage)
Buddhist influences have been evident on the Korean peninsula since the 5th century. During the time of the “United Silla” (668–935) Buddhism became the state religion. That changed in 1392 under the Chosŏn dynasty, which ruled until 1910. The new rulers disempowered the Buddhist clergy and made Neo-Confucianism the state philosophy. Despite centuries of oppression, the tradition of Korean Buddhism has been preserved. The seven mountain monasteries from the 7th to 9th centuries are holy places and religious centers where the faith is still practiced today.
Buddhist masterpieces: According to tradition, the once important Buddhist center, the Beopjusa Temple with 60 buildings and 3000 monks, was founded in 553.
Destroyed by the Japanese in the 16th century, it was rebuilt around 1620. After numerous alterations and renovations, the monastery still comprises 20 buildings, including the five-story »Hall of Eight Images« in the typical East Asian pagoda construction. The original structure of the Beopjusa Temple, founded in 676 by the monk Uisang, was largely destroyed by several fires. The main hall from the late 14th century, in which there is a gilded clay sculpture of the Buddha Amitabha (2.78 m high), is the oldest surviving wooden structure in Korea. The landmark of the Magoksa temple complex near the city of Cheongju is the stone pagoda in the middle of the main square.
Its tip is made of bronze, which suggests Tibetan influence. The peculiarity of Tongdosa, the temple complex on Mount Chiseosan (founded in 646), is the relic that is said to come from the religious founder Buddha Siddhartha Gautama.
Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea: Facts
| Official title: | Sansa, Buddhist mountain monasteries in Korea |
| Cultural monument: | 7 mountain monasteries: T’ongdosa, Bongjeongsa, Beopjusa, Magoksa, Buseoka, Seonamsa and Daeheungsa, founded between the 7th and 9th centuries. |
| Continent: | Asia |
| Country: | South Korea |
| Location: | in Chungcheongbuk-do, Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Jeollabuk-do and Jeollallanam-do provinces |
| Appointment: | 2018 |
| Meaning: | unique testimony to the cultural tradition of Korean Buddhism |
