Cultural Heritage Administration opens 'Korea Pavilion' in Busan to showcase K-heritage

The Cultural Heritage Administration opened the Korea Pavilion on Monday to mark the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee session. The official exhibition hall showcases the value and achievements of Korea's national heritage, offering visitors from around the world a chance to experience Korean heritage through traditional ceremony reenactments and a range of cultural programs.

The Korea Pavilion serves as the host country's official exhibition hall during the committee session, introducing Korea's World Heritage sites, intangible cultural heritage of humanity, Memory of the World inscriptions, national heritage policies and international cooperation achievements. A total of 35 institutions — including government agencies, local governments, religious organizations and social foundations — are participating in special exhibitions, performances and hands-on programs.

The opening ceremony began at 9:20 a.m. Monday at the outdoor plaza of BEXCO with a Royal Guard Changing Ceremony — the first time the large-scale reenactment has been staged outside Gyeongbokgung Palace, symbolizing a welcome from South Korea as the host country.

A range of programs also launched with the opening. An "open-run event" running Monday only offers the first 200 early-entry visitors who take a verification photo at the "Korea and UNESCO" exhibition hall and show it to staff a free banana milk.

The Korea Pavilion will operate at BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1 through July 29, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last entry at 5 p.m.), and admission is free to all.

A guided tour program covering key exhibition halls — including "Korea and UNESCO," "Host City Busan" and "Korea and the Memory of the World" — runs twice daily at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., with 20 participants per showing and a total duration of 45 minutes. The tour follows a single route tracing the history of Korea-UNESCO international cooperation, the significance of the World Heritage Convention and Korea's heritage inscriptions.

The pavilion will also host public demonstrations of national intangible heritage crafts and techniques, 38 traditional performances on the indoor main stage — the K-Heritage Stage — and a series of audience participation events.

"The Korea Pavilion is a space where World Heritage Committee participants, Korean citizens and people from around the world can come together to encounter the value and future of Korea's national heritage," Cultural Heritage Administration Commissioner Heo Min said. "I hope it will serve as an opportunity to widely promote the excellence and global value of our national heritage and to further expand international cooperation through heritage."