G-Dragon [KBS]
G-Dragon [KBS]

Singer G-Dragon has become the face of the first UNESCO World Heritage Committee session ever held in South Korea.

According to his agency Galaxy Corporation, G-Dragon attended the opening ceremony of the 48th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at BEXCO in Busan on Sunday and received an official letter of appointment from the Cultural Heritage Administration.

The session — the first held in Korea since the country joined the UNESCO World Heritage Convention — is an authoritative international forum overseeing the conservation and use of world heritage sites, as well as new inscriptions. G-Dragon marked his first step as a cultural heritage promotional ambassador with a keynote address exploring the relationship between heritage preservation and peace.

The Cultural Heritage Administration said it selected G-Dragon as the ideal figure to spread the session's outcomes globally, citing the peace discourse reflected in his music and art, as well as the ethos of JUSPEACE, the public-interest foundation he established, as being in line with UNESCO's founding principles.

Taking the podium in a suit, G-Dragon delivered a sincere message before delegations from around the world.

He expressed deep gratitude to UNESCO and attendees for their long commitment to protecting humanity's heritage, and reflected on the significance of Busan as the host city. "It is a remarkable city that transformed the scars of war into peace and hope, and it is home to the world's only UN Memorial Cemetery," he said. "In this place, where those who devoted themselves to peace across borders now rest, we are about to begin a new commitment to protect world heritage together."

G-Dragon said that protecting heritage "goes beyond simply preserving the traces of the past — it becomes the driving force for building peace in the future." He added: "Art evokes universal emotion, and that becomes a powerful force for changing the world. As an artist, I will do everything I can to protect world heritage sites threatened with destruction by war and climate change."

He closed his remarks by saying he hoped "the small wish kindled in Busan will grow into a vast stage of peace that resonates across the entire world."

G-Dragon's role as ambassador extends beyond symbolic promotion to a concrete global campaign. In connection with the appointment, the JUSPEACE Foundation has launched "Heritage in Peace," a fundraising campaign for the World Heritage Fund, and has begun full-scale implementation.

UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany echoed the sentiment in his opening remarks, saying that "heritage is not a relic of the past, but a living force that continuously breathes dynamism into the culture of the present generation." He also expressed gratitude to G-Dragon's side "for proactively proposing the World Heritage Fund fundraising campaign." Donations raised through the campaign will be channeled through the JUSPEACE Foundation and contributed directly to the UNESCO World Heritage Fund in the name of South Korean citizens.

Having established himself as a global messenger of peace, G-Dragon returns to his primary role as a performing artist in August. BIGBANG will kick off the world tour "XX: COSMOS," marking the group's 20th debut anniversary, at the main stadium of Goyang Sports Complex from Aug. 21 to 23, accelerating their global push.


shee@heraldcorp.com