From the dolmens to Namhansanseong on the World Heritage List, from Jongmyo ritual music to ssireum on the Intangible Heritage lists — where each came from and when it was inscribed
David McNally, USAG-Yongsan · Public domain · Source
| Heritage | Period · origin | Features | UNESCO inscription |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa dolmens · Bangucheon petroglyphs | Bronze Age (petroglyphs possibly late Neolithic) | Elite tombs / rock carvings of whaling and deer | World Heritage 2000 · 2025 |
| Ssireum | Goguryeo Gakjeochong mural – Kim Hong-do’s painting | Wrestling by the satba belt; a Dano game | Intangible 2018 (joint, both Koreas) |
| Gaya Tumuli | Gaya, 1st–6th c. | Seven sites incl. Jisan-dong (Goryeong) and Daeseong-dong (Gimhae); retainer burials | World Heritage 2023 |
| Goguryeo tombs | Goguryeo (Pyongyang area, Ji’an) | Murals in stone-chamber tombs (Four Guardians); inscribed by North Korea and China | World Heritage 2004 |
| Gyeongju Historic Areas | Silla | Cheomseongdae, Daereungwon, Namsan, Hwangnyongsa site, Wolseong — the thousand-year capital | World Heritage 2000 |
| Baekje Historic Areas | Baekje, Ungjin and Sabi periods | Gongsanseong and Muryeong tomb, Jeongnimsa site, Mireuksa site, etc. | World Heritage 2015 |
| Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries | Founded 7th–9th c. | Tongdosa, Buseoksa, Bongjeongsa, Beopjusa, Magoksa, Seonamsa, Daeheungsa; still living communities | World Heritage 2018 |
| Seokguram and Bulguksa | Unified Silla, from 751 | Founded by Kim Dae-seong; artificial grotto and a Buddha land on earth | World Heritage 1995 |
| Cheoyongmu | Tale of Cheoyong, King Heongang of Silla | Five Cheoyongs in the colours of the directions; court dance in the Akhak gwebeom | Intangible 2009 |
| Kaesong Historic Monuments | Goryeo | Manwoldae, Cheomseongdae, Seonggyungwan, Seonjuk Bridge, King Gongmin’s tombs; North Korea | World Heritage 2013 |
| Jongmyo Shrine | Taejo of Joseon, 1395 | Shrine for royal spirit tablets; shrine east, altar west of the palace | World Heritage 1995 |
| Changdeokgung | Taejong of Joseon, 1405 | Layout following the terrain; rear garden; main palace after the Imjin War | World Heritage 1997 |
| Jongmyo rite and music | Botaepyeong and Jeongdaeeop by Sejong; adopted by Sejo, 1464 | Music, song and line dance; Intangible Property No. 1 (1964) | Intangible 2001 (first) |
| Janggyeong Panjeon, Haeinsa | Rebuilt under Seongjong, 1488 | Houses the Tripitaka Koreana; designed for airflow and humidity | World Heritage 1995 |
| Hahoe and Yangdong villages | Early Joseon (15th–16th c.) | Yangban clan villages of the Ryu / Son and Yi clans; geomantic sites | World Heritage 2010 |
| Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies | Joseon, from 1543 (Baegundong) | Nine academies incl. Sosu, Dosan, Byeongsan, Oksan; rites and teaching | World Heritage 2019 |
| Gangneung Danoje | Joseon (recorded by Heo Gyun, 1603) | Rites for the gods of Daegwallyeong; Gwanno mask drama | Intangible 2005 |
| Namhansanseong | Rebuilt under Injo, 1624 – 1626 | Injo’s 47-day stand in 1636; fortress town with a temporary palace | World Heritage 2014 |
| Talchum (mask dance drama) | Late Joseon popular culture | Satire of yangban hypocrisy and corrupt monks; Bongsan, Hahoe, etc. | Intangible 2022 |
| Pansori | Late Joseon (18th c.) | Singer and drummer; song, narration, gesture; six madang edited by Sin Jae-hyo | Intangible 2003 |
| Kimjang | Late Joseon chili kimchi (1766 record) | Making and sharing kimchi with neighbours before winter | Intangible 2013 (North Korea 2015) |
| Hwaseong Fortress, Suwon | Jeongjo of Joseon, 1794 – 1796 | Designed by Jeong Yak-yong; crane; Eastern and Western techniques | World Heritage 1997 |
| Taekkyeon | Late Joseon (Yu Suk’s Daekwaedo, 1846) | Pumbapgi footwork; kicks and sweeps | Intangible 2011 (first martial art) |
| Arirang | Spread nationwide in the 19th c. | Jeongseon, Jindo, Miryang Arirang; Na Un-gyu’s film (1926) | Intangible 2012 (North Korea 2014) |
Bronze came into use around 2000–1500 BCE. Rice farming began, private property and classes emerged, and chieftains came to rule.
A traditional contest of strength and skill in which wrestlers grip each other’s satba belts and try to throw each other. It is depicted in the Goguryeo Gakjeochong mural, and in 2018 it became the first heritage jointly inscribed by South and North Korea on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Tombs of the kings and elite of Daegaya. Tomb No. 44 is a sacrificial burial holding dozens of people.
A late Goguryeo stone-chamber tomb with a passage, its four walls painted with the Four Guardian Deities.
In the reign of Queen Seondeok, the stone observatory Cheomseongdae was built in Gyeongju.
A Baekje stone pagoda on the site of Jeongnimsa in the heart of the Sabi capital — the refined culmination of Baekje’s stone pagodas modelled on timber ones.
Uisang, who had studied Hwaeom (Huayan) Buddhism in Tang, founded Buseoksa at Yeongju by royal command; it became the centre of the Hwaeom school in Silla.
Kim Dae-seong, chief minister under King Gyeongdeok, began Bulguksa and the Seokguram grotto on Mount Toham — the summit of unified Silla’s Buddhist art.
A court dance derived from the tale of Cheoyong in the reign of King Heongang of Silla. Five dancers in Cheoyong masks wear the colours of the five directions; it became Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.
Twin tombs of King Gongmin and Princess Noguk. Gongmin himself built his queen’s tomb, and its zodiac retaining stones and civil and military statues became the model for Joseon royal tombs.
The royal ancestral shrine holding the spirit tablets of Joseon kings and queens. Completed in 1395 with the move to Hanyang, it became a World Heritage Site in 1995.
A secondary palace built by King Taejong in 1405. Its halls follow the natural terrain, and after the Imjin War it long served as the main palace. It became a World Heritage Site in 1997.
The rite held at Jongmyo for the royal ancestors and the music, songs and dances that accompany it. Botaepyeong and Jeongdaeeop, composed under King Sejong, were adopted for the rite under King Sejo.
Early Joseon depositories that hold the Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks. Their scientific design for ventilation and humidity made them a World Heritage Site in 1995.
Yangban clan villages founded in early Joseon. With their geomantic sites and surviving yangban and thatched houses, they became a World Heritage Site in 2010 as the "Historic Villages of Korea".
Ju Se-bung founded the first seowon academy at Punggi; in 1550, at Yi Hwang’s request, it received a royal charter as Sosu Seowon.
A Gangneung town festival honouring the gods of Daegwallyeong at Dano, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. Heo Gyun recorded seeing it in 1603; it became Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2005.
A mountain fortress rebuilt under King Injo to guard the capital from the south. King Injo held out here for 47 days in the Second Manchu Invasion; it became a World Heritage Site in 2014.
As commoners grew wealthier in late Joseon, pansori, mask dance, Hangul novels and narrative sijo flourished, along with the genre paintings of Kim Hong-do and Sin Yun-bok and anonymous folk painting.
A performance in which a single singer weaves a long story through song, speech and gesture to a drummer’s beat. It arose in late Joseon, was edited by Sin Jae-hyo, and became Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2003.
The custom of making and sharing large amounts of kimchi with neighbours before winter. Chili-seasoned kimchi spread in late Joseon; it became Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.
Jeongjo built a new fortress at Suwon, where he had moved his father’s tomb. Jeong Yak-yong helped design it and introduced a crane; the work was recorded in a detailed royal protocol.
A traditional martial art that trips and topples the opponent with kicks and sweeps from a fluid footwork (pumbapgi). Popular in late Joseon, it became in 2011 the first martial art on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Korean folk songs with the refrain "Arirang". Every region has its own Arirang, and the song spread nationwide in the late 19th century. It became Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012.
Court painter who portrayed King Jeongjo and is best known for genre scenes of commoners such as The Village School and Ssireum; he died around 1806
Writer traditionally credited with the Korean-script novel Hong Gil-dong jeon; his Homillon spoke of the power of the people, and he was executed for treason
Twenty-seventh ruler and Silla's first queen, under whom Cheomseongdae and the nine-storey pagoda of Hwangnyongsa were built
Silla monk who brought Hwaeom (Huayan) Buddhism from Tang, founded Buseoksa, wrote the Hwaeom ilseung beopgyedo and spread devotion to Avalokitesvara
Thirtieth king of Silla, who destroyed Goguryeo, expelled Tang and completed unification
Chief minister under King Gyeongdeok who, according to the Samguk yusa, began Bulguksa and Seokguram
35th king of Silla, who sinicized official titles and place names but restored the nogeup stipend villages; Bulguksa and Seokguram were begun in his reign
Thirty-first king of Goryeo, who led anti-Yuan reforms, recovered the Ssangseong Commandery and backed Sin Don’s reforms
Founder and first king of Joseon, formerly a general who fought Japanese pirates and the Red Turbans
Neo-Confucian architect of the new dynasty who named the palace and capital gates; killed in the First Strife of Princes
Third king of Joseon, who seized power in the Strifes of Princes and strengthened royal authority