Ulsan marks first anniversary of Bangucheon petroglyphs' UNESCO World Heritage listing

"Unparalleled evidence of a 6,000-year-old petroglyphic tradition. A masterpiece in which prehistoric people expressed the rare theme of whales and whaling through their creativity."

Those are the words UNESCO's World Heritage Committee used when it inscribed the Bangucheon petroglyphs — comprising the Bangudae Petroglyphs of Daegok-ri and the Cheonjeon-ri Inscriptions and Petroglyphs, both in Ulju-gun, Ulsan — on the World Heritage List. Sunday marked one year since that inscription.

Ulsan City held a ceremony Thursday at 11 a.m. in the lobby of the main city hall to mark the first anniversary of the listing. About 100 people attended, including Mayor Kim Sang-uk, City Council Speaker Lee Yeong-hae, Ulju-gun County Chief Lee Sun-geol and residents. The city said it would use the occasion to share the site's significance and expand efforts to make the most of it.

Since the inscription, Ulsan has pursued a range of projects guided by the principle of balancing conservation with active use, aiming to develop the site into a "living World Heritage" that residents and tourists can experience firsthand alongside preservation efforts.

To improve the visitor environment, the city installed QR-code interpretation panels at 15 locations around the petroglyphs, offering 30 content items with audio guides in English, Chinese and Japanese. It also set up four AI-powered extended-reality (XR) telescopes to give visitors a close-up view of the Bangudae Petroglyphs across the Bangucheon stream. The city has also landscaped the wetlands of nearby Dongmaesan and operates a shuttle bus along the Bangucheon route.

In the second half of this year, the city plans to expand infrastructure by installing World Heritage marker stones, creating a historical and cultural trail, and improving the access road to Daegok Village. It will also develop a petroglyphs-themed trademark design to strengthen the site's identity as a historical and cultural tourism resource.

On the exhibition and academic front, the Ulsan Library is running a special exhibition titled "Prehistoric Library: Reading the Petroglyphs" in its first-floor gallery through Sept. 30, while the Ulsan Petroglyphs Museum will host an exhibition called "Time Repository: Data from That Day" through April 25, 2027.

"We will nurture the Bangucheon petroglyphs into a world-class historical and cultural tourism resource through systematic conservation and creative use, grounded in public-private cooperation," Kim said.