South Korea’s bid to list tidal flats in its southwestern coast as a World Heritage site has hit a snag as a preliminary advisory body for Unesco gave it a “defer” review. 

The Cultural Heritage Administration(CHA) on Tuesday revealed the result of the review by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature(IUCN) on Korea's tidal flats called “Getbol.”

The tidal flats spanning one-thousand square meters in Seocheon in South Chungcheong Province, Gochang in North Jeolla Province and Sinan, Boseong and Suncheon in South Jeolla Province are home to rare species and contain the world’s thickest layer of mudflat sediment. 

The IUCN issues four grades of reviews-“inscribe,” “refer,” “defer,” and “not to inscribe” with “inscribe” considered a provisional listing approval by the Unesco World Heritage. 

Lower IUCN grades, however, were reversed by the World Heritage Committee occasionally as in the case of South Korean Confucian academies, or seowon, which were recognized as a global heritage despite a “defer” review from the IUCN. 

The CHA said it will seek a better review on "Getbol" from the World Heritage Committee slated for July.