Tidal flats in Yeosu, Goheung and Muan in South Jeolla have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage site 'Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats.' The Korea Heritage Service held a ceremony for the 'Phase 2 Extension' at the Yeosu World Island Expo site on October 29, 2026. Six local governments received World Heritage inscription certificates that day. The event marked the growth of the coastline grouped under the same name, five years after the first inscription in 2021.
The ceremony took place at a special performance hall inside the expo site. Heo Min, Administrator of the Korea Heritage Service, delivered a commemorative address. Certificates were received by Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, South Chungcheong Province, Yeosu City, Goheung County, Muan County and Seosan City. Administrator Heo also took part in a ceremonial event with officials from these bodies.
Yeosu, Goheung and Muan were listed as the areas of the extension.
Seosan City and South Chungcheong Province also received certificates. Whether the Seosan tidal flats were formally included in the new area was not separately disclosed that day.
The name 'Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats' was first placed on the World Heritage List in 2021. At that time, the tidal flats of Suncheon, Boseong, Sinan and Seocheon in South Chungcheong were grouped together. Sinan now belongs to Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City.
From the start, this heritage called the mudflats scattered across the West Sea and South Sea by a single name. This time, Yeosu and Goheung on the South Sea side and Muan on the West Sea side came under that name.
Tidal flats are submerged and exposed again twice a day. When the tide comes in they become sea, and when it goes out the gray mud appears. Step on it and the sticky mud pulls you in up to the ankle.
The wind carries a salty, fishy smell, and the faint sound of draining water can be heard across the mud. It is land that is sea at high tide and shore at low tide.
The World Heritage certificate is a promise to protect these tidal flats.
The place where that promise was handed over was the island expo site. An event venue meant to draw crowds and mudflats that last longer when trodden on less sit on the same coast. Yeosu City, Goheung County and Muan County must now welcome visitors to the coast while still leaving room for the mud to breathe. If either tourism or conservation is let go, the meaning of the certificate also fades.
The 2021 inscription did not end with a single listing. Over five years, 'Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats' has expanded from the shores of Suncheon and Sinan to the islands of Yeosu and the coast of Muan. As the name grows, so does the number of local governments that must protect the mud. The fact that Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City and South Chungcheong Province received certificates together shows that this is a heritage that cannot remain the responsibility of a single locality.
It is worth checking the low tide time on a tide table and visiting the shores of Yeosu or Goheung. The mud is dense with crab holes, and small bubbles rise up from the mud underfoot. The single certificate handed over in Yeosu on the 29th was made to protect that mud.
