Unesco World Heritage Centre director urges preservation of Jongmyo amid development dispute

Lazare Eloundou Assomo called for a proper assessment to determine whether a redevelopment plan threatens a site's Outstanding Universal Value. BUSAN — Calling Korea's Jongmyo Shrine a "jewel," Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the Unesco World Heritage Centre, stressed the need for a proper procedure to find a solution to the latest dispute over plans to redevelop the area around the landmark. "Jongmyo is the jewel of Korea — that's what I like to call it," Assomo said in a recent roundtable interview with the Korean press on the sidelines of the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee currently underway in Busan. "It was the first World Heritage site that Korea gave as a gift to the international community by inscribing it. When you speak about Jongmyo, it's equivalent to speaking about Korea — its people and its culture. So it's important to preserve Jongmyo, and it's the responsibility of the international community to help preserve it." Jongmyo Shrine, the Confucian royal shrine of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) located in the heart of the Korean capital, is mired in a high-rise redevelopment dispute involving the Korea Heritage Service, the Seoul Metropolitan City and the residents. A new height limit for a neighboring area permits the construction of taller buildings, a change welcomed by landowners. The central government, however, has pushed back, with the Korea Heritage Service warning that the taller buildings could undermine the shrine's scenic and symbolic value. The heritage agency and Unesco have pushed for a World Heritage Impact Assessment — a review that evaluates whether a development plan threatens a site's Outstanding Universal Value, the core standard for Unesco World Heritage inscription. The city and residents backing the redevelopment have objected to the assessment. Assomo said the assessment is necessary "to see and understand the impact and to find a solution." "What we can see in Jongmyo happens in a lot of sites around the world. What's important is not to avoid the impacts that will have negative effects. The rules are the same for all heritage sites. We hope and encourage all the stakeholders to work together." Assomo, born in Cameroon, is an architecture expert who has worked with Unesco since 2003, and was appointed director of the World Heritage Centre in 2021. He is especially known for leading the post-conflict reconstruction of mausoleums in Timbuktu and safeguarding ancient manuscripts. Condemning heritage deconstruction, as was the case with Timbuktu due to extremist fighting, as a "war crime," Assomo said preservation of heritage, especially when it's closely associated with a community, is what forms the fundamentals of a distinct culture. "The biggest consequence of such heritage deconstruction is that it erases the evidence of different cultures," he said. "If you come to Cameroon, you will be very interested to visit my heritage the way I am coming to Korea to visit your heritage. That gives us the possibility of sharing something which is important and the value of universality. That's what Unesco is protecting." During the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee, a decision was adopted calling on Japan to adequately reflect the history of Korea's forced labor done at its Unesco-listed Sado Mine. Assomo said the decision does not legally compel Japan to take any specific action. "Each state party that submits a site for inscription on the World Heritage List commits to implementing the decisions of the World Heritage Committee," he said. "When the committee adopts a decision, the concerned state party has already committed itself to implementing it and reporting on the results. The reporting mechanism allows us to monitor whether progress has been made. We do not have a system of obliging because countries commit themselves in its true dialogue and cooperation." When asked about his experience in Busan as the city is pushing for World Heritage inscription, Assomo ...