South Korea - Sites of the Busan Wartime Capital

Temporary Presidential Residence N35°06'12.6" E129°01'02.7"

Temporary Government Complex N35°06'17.5" E129°01'10.0"

Korea Meteorological Administration N35°06'17.3" E129°01'56.1"

Ami-dong Tombstone Village N35°05'58.7" E129°00'43.7"

Uam-dong Cattle Shed Village N35°07'32.4" E129°04'10.6"

Pier 1 of Busan Port N35°06'13.4" E129°02'27.7"

U.S. Embassy/U.S. Information Service N35°06'09.6" E129°01'52.2"

United Nations Memorial Cemetery N35°07'41.3" E129°05'48.5"

Camp Hialeah N35°10'02.1" E129°03'20.8"



The Sites of the Busan Wartime Capital is a serial property consisting of nine component sites located in Busan, Republic of Korea. The nominated property is associated with a conflict on the Korean Peninsula known as the Korean War (1950–1953), the first proxy war of the Cold War era. The city of Busan provided a temporary seat of government for South Korea for the majority of the three-year conflict (it served for 1,023 combined days over the periods from August 18 to October 26, 1950 and January 4, 1951 to August 14, 1953). Following the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, the government of South Korea was transferred to Busan on August 18 after brief periods in the cities of Daejeon and Daegu (about three weeks and one month, respectively). After approximately two months, the government returned to Seoul. The seat of government was, however, shifted once again to Busan on January 4, 1951. It remained there until the signing of a ceasefire agreement in the summer of 1953. The nominated property offers exceptional testimony to this provisional seat of the government of South Korea as it was forced to expeditiously adapt existing facilities to fulfil the functions of a wartime capital, such as maintaining the operations of the government, providing support to displaced people, and facilitating international cooperation. The nominated property consists of nine components—five centering around architectural heritage and four areas respectively serving special purposes.

The nine components of the nominated property collectively meet the conditions of authenticity and integrity by superbly attesting to the functioning of the Busan wartime capital as it governed a nation in a time of war, sustained the war-torn lives of refugees, and sought international support for military and humanitarian needs. Among the nine component sites, three are associated with efforts at maintaining governmental functions during the war: the Temporary Presidential Residence, the Temporary Government Complex, and the Korea Meteorological Administration. Components related to the lives of displaced Koreans are the Ami-dong Tombstone Village and the Uam-dong Cattle Shed Village, which opened themselves to housing the refugees flooding Busan who were displaced by the war. The other four components evidence the cooperation between the United Nations and the South Korean government and its people as they sought peace. They are Pier 1 of Busan Port, the United States Embassy/United States Information Service, Camp Hialeah, and the United Nations Memorial Cemetery.