Studies on the Utilization of Walled Towns - Focusing on the Haemi-eupseong Walled Town in Korea

The human settlement environment undergoes CYCLES of contraction and expansion based on fundamental needs like the supply of water and resources and the diverse purposes of different groups and communities. In this process, activities to protect the settlement environment are often seen as a shared outcome. Specifically, systematic protection measures are pursued, which may include addressing deficiencies through exchanges between groups, resolving conflicts over vested interests, mediating disputes, forming solidarity, and responding to the shortcomings of other groups. Fortifications and military heritage exemplify typologies of heritage developed in an organic relationship with the unique environment shaped by human activities. Walled towns are safeguarded by maintaining their functions or being designated cultural heritage among these fortifications and military heritage. Through this study, we analyze Haemi-eupseong walled town (in Korean ‘읍성,’ in Chinese ‘邑城’) as one of Korea’s typical walled towns concerning the attributes that reflect the authenticity according to ‘the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention’ and examine the efforts of the conservation management entity to sustain and utilize this authority by applying the theory and methodology outlined in the ICOMOS Guidelines on Fortifications and Military Heritage, officially adopted in 2021 by ICOMOS, the cultural heritage advisory body under UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, to Haemi-eupseong. The goal is to explore theoretical approaches to heritage value, develop systematic methods for heritage utilization, and propose strategies for sustainably preserving the importance of heritage.