It was a unique poem, so I really wanted to include it, but as you say it just doesn't quite fit with the connection. I had much the same feeling, and it is fairly long. No worries, as of late I have been reading quite a bit of Korea poetry and literature, in large part prep for graduate school. However, now and again I come across something that could potentially be added to a connection.

Have just been reading about the poem's author Chon Sang-pyong - he has a a wiki entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chon_Sang-pyong

The traumas and tortures he faced in South Korea take one back to the bad old days of South Korean "democracy" under Park Chung-hee - as Lyndon Johnson was reputed to have said (about someone else) "They may be bastards but at least they are our bastards"!

I just finished reading his collection of poems "Back to Heaven". I enjoyed his style. If you want to read a great history of Korea, particularly modern Korea, check out any of Bruce Cumming's works. "Korea's Place in the Sun" provides an insightful look into modern Korea coverning much of the Sygman Rhee and Park Chung-hee era's.

Els, I made a couple small mistakes on adding some connections. About Macao I did not see it already had the connection to Goddesses, also I may have sent the Taoism/Confucian connection twice.

Perhaps Confucianism needs requirements. Specifically, most cultural Chinese sites can be linked to Confucianism. Actually, some nomination files (West Lake, Fujan Tulou) claim Confucian traditions, and in the AB evaluations ICOMOS has stated the link is not significant as a criteria for inscription. I already submitted Fujan Tulou to the Confucianism connection. I am now not so sure there is a significant connection there. My other submittions concerning Confucianism are much stronger.

Requirement for Confucianism:

Sites that exhibit one of the following
- a significant Confucian tradition
- uniquely Confucian architectural elements or landscapes
- sites that contain Confucian temples or academies
- an exceptional example of Confucian/Buddhist/Taoist integration
- directly related to the life of Confucius

Hopefully, not too confusing. I have been thinking of some more China connections lately.

*Gyeongju Historic Areas

Gyeongju National Research Institute (discovery of a fully armored fifth-century Silla warrior in Gyeongju) November/December 2009 Report

http://www.archaeology.org/0911/abstracts/korea_iron_man.html

http://www.world-archaeology.com/news/korea-grave-of-ancient-warrior-found/

I found this article about some of the recent excavations in Gyeongju, this is probably the most important discovery in the last couple years.

Concerning the connection I noticed the requirement is within 2 years. Therefore, while the excavations in Gyeongju qualify, it is set to pass the 2 year requirement this month.

East Rennell
I see this has been connected to "In Private Ownership" because it is "In customary ownership".
But, if it is "in customary ownership" it is not privately owned!!
"Customary ownership" as operated in the Pacific is a significant issue in inscribing WHS. Kuk in PNG had to overcome the concerns which UNESCO felt about control and protection of land under such legal forms.
See this for a discussion of the issue.
http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/MLW_VolumeOne_Bookmarked.pdf
This paper recognises 3 forms of legal ownership in the Pacific
a. Customary
b. Public
c. Freehold ( = Private i.e Individuals or Corporate Bodies)

Of course it isn't just the form of legal ownership which concerns UNESCO but also the legal "rights" assigned to the State, to Individuals and to the Community by the legal domain in which the site stands. The problem with land in Customary Ownership is that "The various aspects of customary tenure—inheritance, allocation of usage rights, dispute settlement and recordkeeping, for example—are managed by customary groups according to their own unique processes, which are often linked to underlying social and spiritual beliefs (see Annex B). Most governments in the Pacific region have tended to avoid interfering with customary tenure systems, in terms of how they allocate rights, manage the land and keep records.". As a result the nominating State party is unable, or at least finds it difficult, to give UNESCO the required guarantees of protection etc it requires of a WHS. Both the "customary ownership" AND the inability/unwillingness of the state to impose its rules on land so held need to be present to create a potential problem

The inclusion of Fujian Tulou under this Connection is also surely outside the definition of "Private Individual or Company"?

We could have a connection to "Customary Ownership" I guess - but we would need to think through the definitional issues. Uluru for instance is "owned" by the local Aborigines but is not, as I understand it in "customary ownership" as is normally meant by the phrase described above. Similarly of course with e.g Taos Pueblo -though "First Nation" ownership in US does grant certain freedoms from interference by the normal jurisdictions - as shown by the proliferation of casinos there! I am not quite sure where that would leave the USA v UNESCO if the Pueblo Peoples tried to do something at Taos which UNESCO didn't agree with!

If we fully unpacked the issue of "ownership" in legal terms with all its niceties we would not doubt find quite a range of models with even apparently similar ones varying in detail across jurisdictions. "Private Ownership" for instance operates differently in different states and grants different rights. But, generally in "western" legal terms those rights are controlled within the jurisdiction of the state and that control is acceptable to UNESCO. But there are grey areas - although the definition of "Private ownership" includes "corporations" we have taken it as excluding Churches totally even though there exist a wide range of religious "ownership" models across the world (including of course "state ownership") and some could be regarded as treating at least some religions as "Corporations".

Located at an "extreme point" of Latitude/Longitude
This may seem a little pedantic but St Kilda is definitely not the Westernmost point of the nominating State Party. By my reckoning this would be Oeno Island in the Pitcairn Islands group, a little to the west of Henderson Island.

You are quite right but the definition was stated to exclude "territories".
I accept that the similar connection for "Territorial Highest point" was defined to include the highest point which was available to a State Party to nominate - including "Territories" - this allowed in eg Big Ben on Heard Island for Australia, Pico for Portugal and Teide for Spain.

It was a "judgement call" but it seemed that, whilst that wider definition for "Highest" brought out some interesting extra sites which the strict definition would not have, the opposite was true in the case of extreme Lat/Long

To adopt the same definition for "extreme points of Lat/Long" would result in Changes for the Australian West/south points and bring in Macdonald and Macquarie Islands instead - but would that have been as "interesting"?
It would also as stated, alter the NZ westernmost point to the Auckland Islands. Again the fact that the mainland point was inscribed seemed "interesting" in a way in which distant island points were not .

Surprisingly Rapa Nui isn't a Territory of Chile by the way.

I guess the definition of each could be altered to allow both "mainland"/"main state" locations AND full Territorial ones - it wouldn't add that many Connections!

Fair point. I only took a cursory look and didn't read the detail. However, as you point out, there are ambiguities as to how places are defined as territories with large parts of mainland Australia and Canada still being territories and some islands being territories and others not.

You have raised a valid point re Australia and Canada - the definition would be better excluding only "Island Territories". I hadn't appreciated that Northern Territory in Australia is still not a "full" State constitutionally having failed in Oct 1998 to take the opportunity for full statehood in a referendum with a 51.9% no vote.

New Connection:

Early Underfloor Heating

Ondol heating - The ondol floor was made from packed earth covered in paper. Hot smoke was then passed along channels beneath the floor to heat the room. Ondol floors were used in rooms of the main living quarters. Every private residence of traditional Korea, no matter how humble, was equipped with a heated ondol floor and a kitchen for cooking, which was essential during Korea's cold winters.

Kang bed-stove heating - The Kang is a traditional long (2 meters or more) sleeping platform made of bricks or other forms of fired clay used primarily in Northern China. Its interior cavity, leading to a flue, channels the exhaust from a wood or coal stove. Typically, a kang occupies one-third to one half the area the room, and is used for sleeping at night and for other activities during the day. A kang which covers the entire floor is called a dikang, di meaning "floor".

Hypocaust heating - A hypocaust was an ancient Roman system of underfloor heating, used to heat houses with hot air.

Requirements:
- Not only associated with baths

*Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong - "By having the study hall building equipped with a daecheong and an ondol room, Ryu Ul-lyong ensured that he was able to pursue his studies in all seasons while living there." – Nomination file

*Changdeokgung Palace Complex - All residential palacial buildings contain ondol floors.

*Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments - "Still visible today are the hot rooms, the pools, the ventilation system for the hot air circulating within the walls through tubuli (hollow tiles) and between the piles of bricks (hypocausts)." – Nomination description

- Numerous potential connections in Central and Northern Italy.
- Perhaps some other connections in Germany, France, UK, and China.

In Bath the Romans used hypocausts, but it is directly related with heating baths. Since there is already a large connection related with baths, it would be repetitive to include more sites.

*City of Bath - "The Romans built a temple there dedicated to Sulis, a local divinity whom they associated with Minerva, as well as a hot bath and including two pools, five baths (four Roman and one medieval) and all the standard equipment of tepidaria, frigidaria and hypocausts." - AB Document

One difficulty is hypocaust heating in Europe was often used for heating baths and somewhat less in homes or villas. Most of the AB documents don't mention hypocaust heating in detail. Anyone have any suggestions?

Or even better to exclude Dependent Territories for which I see we already have a connection. I'm learning something new every day! The NT issue is fascinating. I guess the vote reflects the realisation by many Territorians that its an incredibly difficult place, geographically and sociologically, to govern.

The more one looks at this the more "issues" emerge!

Yes - use of the term "Dependent Territories" in the definition to identify excluded areas would seem to achieve the "best" result in relation to the "extreme points" issue for Australia and New Zealand. Luckily the connection hasn't identified any points on the mainland of Spain or Portugal but, if it had they wouldn't be valid under this definition since neither Madeira nor The Canaries are "Dependent Territories" (And no inscribed sites on Madeira and The Canaries are candidates for this Connection either) .

However, the Dependent Territory Connection should NOT include Rapa Nui since this is NOT a "Dependent Territory" of Chile. As wiki puts it "Many political entities have a special position recognized by international treaty or agreement resulting in a certain level of autonomy or differences in immigration rules. These are sometimes considered dependencies, but are officially considered by their controlling states to be integral parts of the state." . Rapa Nui is such an entity and for most purposes is run as just another province with parliamentary representatives etc:- "Easter Island shares with Juan Fernández Islands the sui generis constitutional status of "special territory" of Chile, granted in 2007. As of 2011 a special charter for the island was under discussion in the Chilean Congress. Administratively, the island is a province of the Valparaíso Region and contains a single commune (comuna)....Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Easter Island belongs to the 13th electoral district and 6th senatorial constituency. "

The Koguryeo Kingdom Connection for "Walled Cities" was accidently placed under "Stupa".

The AB evaluation states:
"the lands within the areas of the nominated properties are owned by the peasant collectives. Most of the tulou buildings themselves are privately owned by the inhabitants, and they collectively own the public structures within the tulou. Qiaofu Lou, Zhenfu Lou, and Nanyang Lou are owned by overseas Chinese"

Collectively owned?