Seowon, or Neo-Confucian Academy of the Joseon dynasty, has been designated as a cultural heritage by UNESCO. Among the many seowon in Korea, nine were chosen and added to the list of Korea’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites as follows: Sosuseowon, Namgyeseowon, Oksanseowon, Dosanseowon, Piramseowon, Dodongseowon, Byeongsanseowon, Museongseowon, and Donamseowon.

At the 43rd session of World Heritage Committee (WHC) held on July 6, 2019, the nine seowon sites were evaluated to hold a significant universal value for their excellent preservation of Korea’s Neo-Confucianism tradition and illustration of how Neo-Confucianism developed and adapted in Korea. With the addition of seowon, Korea now has a total of 14 world heritages. Diverse tour programs and events are planned to attract both domestic and international travelers to seowon.

Do check out these newly added UNESCO World Heritage sites on your trip to Korea! For more information, check out UNESCO Website or VisitKorea Website.