UNESCO listed World Heritage Gongsanseong Fortress damaged by heavy rain

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Thursday said that approximately 10 meters of the Gongsanseong Fortress have collapsed due to heavy rain during the last two days.

The 2.5-kilometer-long fortress was built during the Baekje Kingdom (18 BC-AD 660) and lies along the mountain ridge and valley near Geum River in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province. In 2015, eight ancient Baekje historic areas, including Gongsanseong Fortress, were collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, becoming Korea’s 12th item on the list.

According to CHA, the damaged area is a steep slope section located east of the Imryugak Pavilion in the fortress. The agency added that the collapse was caused by heavy rain which penetrated into the wall and the rocks underneath the wall that were swept away by the rain along with soil.

A fence has been erected to prevent visitors from approaching the nearby area.

The CHA plans to repair the collapsed portion of the fortress and also to check the entire wall of the fortress to check for further risk of collapse.

Meanwhile, during the process of repairing the wall, the agency will also look into the eastern side of fortress, which has not been researched before, to find out more about the structure.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)