The Cretaceous fossil sites of South Korea: identifying geosites, science and geotourism

There are a range of natural resources for geotourism in Korea, including scenic mountains with variable geological histories, hot springs, and coastline environments. Many of the national and provincial parks and natural monuments in Korea have been designated because of their geological values. Three sites on Jeju Island have been inscribed on the World Heritage list largely for geological values such as volcanic features and landscape and associated scenic values. Furthermore, there are many geological heritage sites designated as natural monuments in Cretaceous sedimentary basins in Korea. They include dinosaur fossil sites and geologically scenic sites. The former are of great scientific importance and many have the potential to be developed into geotourism destinations of global significance. Five sites, on the Korean Cretaceous Dinosaur Coast which have been very important for regional tourism, are currently being nominated as World Heritage for their highly significant fossil trackways and dinosaur eggs. The full gambit of geotourism potential for Korean geological heritage has rarely been studied (Jeong, 2000; Heo et al., 2006a; Heo et al., 2006b; Heo, 2007). In this chapter the Cretaceous geosites in Korea are summarized in respect to their importance as globally significant geotourism resources