Jeong Jae-ung, deputy speaker of the Gangwon Provincial Assembly, raises concerns
The Gangwon Provincial Assembly has criticized the suspension of efforts to secure UNESCO World Heritage status for the Demilitarized Zone, calling on Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province to resume the push in earnest.
The Democratic Party of Korea, which now holds the Gangwon governorship, has maintained that "peace is a benefit," while the People Power Party has taken a harder line toward North Korea. In the June 3 local elections, Gangwon voters broadly backed the peace-oriented message and showed little enthusiasm for the PPP's strategy of highlighting issues such as the West Sea naval battles.
Jeong Jae-ung, a Democratic Party lawmaker representing Chuncheon's fifth district and deputy speaker of the Gangwon Provincial Assembly, pressed the Gangwon Institute of History and Culture during an administrative audit Tuesday over why follow-up work on the DMZ World Heritage bid had been halted. Jeong demanded to know whether the publication of a final report and a results presentation had effectively marked the end of the designation effort.
Documents submitted for the audit showed that the institute conducted research in 2023 on the cultural heritage value of the DMZ and ran community outreach programs, then carried out surveys of folk religious traditions and modern cultural heritage candidates in Cheorwon and Hwacheon in 2024.
A comprehensive report on the DMZ World Heritage bid was published in 2025 and a results presentation was held, but follow-up work was suspended after the Cultural Heritage Administration failed to sustain momentum for the designation and no national or provincial budget was allocated.
Jeong noted that the provincial assembly had consistently called for a clear project direction grounded in the research and work accumulated over the years toward UNESCO listing.
Jeong pressed for a clear explanation of whether the project had been wrapped up with only the comprehensive report and the results presentation, and, if the World Heritage bid had been abandoned, why that decision was made.
Jeong said that if there was genuine will to pursue the designation, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province could not afford to simply wait on the Cultural Heritage Administration and needed to take an active role.
Jeong also called on the province to develop concrete follow-up projects that would translate the accumulated research into an actual listing bid, and to spare no effort on necessary tasks including consultations with related ministries to secure funding.
The DMZ World Heritage bid is a joint effort by Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province and the Cultural Heritage Administration to win international recognition and protection for the zone's peace and ecological values.
Established as a demilitarized and non-combat buffer zone following the Korean War truce, the DMZ is now home to rare wildlife and is preserved as the world's largest temperate old-growth forest.
Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province signed an MOU with the Cultural Heritage Administration to jointly handle foundational, documentary and field surveys, academic research support, and the drafting of the nomination application.
Beyond its ecological significance, the DMZ's value as a World Heritage site encompasses its role as a space of peace, healing and memory, with the bid targeting designation as a UNESCO mixed heritage site.
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