KoreaToday Gwanghwamun nameplate dispute continues

By Han Sang-hee

Gwanghwamun holds a special meaning in Korean history, so when the name board of the gate cracked after its restoration in November last year, historians, architects, artists and the public alike showed deep interest in what to do to bring back its glory.

The government-run Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), which oversaw the reconstruction, has been going through an ordeal regarding the calligraphy and hopefully it will be able to reach a general consensus in the near future.

What the gate represents

Gwanghwamun is the main gate to Gyeongbok Palace and was built in 1395, the fourth year of King Taejo’s rule of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910). The word Gyeongbok-gung literally means “the palace that carries the fortune of glowing forever.”

The gate was destroyed during a Japanese invasion (1592-1598) and was restored in a different location in 1867; but it was destroyed again during the Korean War (1950-53) and rebuilt as a concrete structure along with a signboard written in Hangeul (the Korean alphabet) by former President Park Chung-hee in 1968.

The latest refurbishment started in October, 2006, as part of the Gyeongbok Palace restoration project that started in 1990.

The restoration of the gate took three years and eight months and was finally completed Aug. 15, 2010, but after only three months, cracks were found on the board, raising allegations of reckless reconstruction. Several cracks were visible to the naked eye, the largest one on the left side of the Chinese character “gwang.”

It’s easy to find small cracks here and there on columns within Gyeongbok Palace, but having cracks on the name board of one of Korea’s most important gates means much more, according to many culture experts and historians.

One of the main reasons why the gate is known to be so special is because it was the gate through which the king, and only the king, could enter.

“Gwanghwamun is like China’s Tiananmen,” said Prof. Jeon Bong-hee from the department of architecture at Seoul National University, while Kim Dong-hyun, a consultant to the advisory of the restoration project also explained that the “restoration of the gate means the restoration of our ancestors’ views and culture.”

“The restoration of Gwanghwamunjn means the restoration of one of Korea’s historical icons. It will heighten national pride and historical awareness as it has been restored in its original location and orientation,” said Yi Kun-moo, head of the CHA at a ceremony held to celebrate the final restoration of the gate last August.

Shin Eung-soo, the master carpenter who has worked on the restoration of many of Korean historical buildings including Gwanghwamun, also pointed out that the gate has special meaning among others in Korean history.

“The Japanese destroyed a lot of elements of Korean culture, but there was no other building it completely destroyed like they did to Gyeongbok Palace, including the Gwanghwamun gate,” he said.

Destroying the gate and the palace was the Japanese method of destroying the integrity of the Joseon Kingdom. During the invasion, the Japanese not only built the building for the Japanese Governor General of Korea, but also used equipment and materials used for the palace, saying that they were restoring another palace nearby. According to Shin, the Japanese also tore off parts of the buildings and sold them to merchants.

What’s in a nameboard?

The biggest controversy about the Gwanghwamun gate is the nameboard. The controversy started when plans for the restoration of the gate first surfaced, and now that the CHA has decided to change it again after discovering the cracks, it has been rekindled.

The original nameboard bore the word “Gwanghwamun” in Chinese characters. It was written by Lim Tae-young, a general who was in charge of the rebuilding during the reign of King Gojong, but in 1968, it was rewritten by President Park Chung-hee because builders could not find any photos or descriptions of the original.

When the restoration committee later discovered a photo taken during the Japanese invasion that showed the name board written by Lim, it decided to revert to it through digital technology despite oppositions among Hangeul lovers and related organizations. According to the CHA, the decision was made as the overall restoration of the gate was to be based on the one restored during King Gojong’s reign.

The problem starts here. Because it was not actually written by a calligrapher but made by magnifying a photo, people pointed out that the digitalized version had neither life nor meaning.

“The nameboard is like the face of the country. The strokes of the calligraphy are dead and I feel miserable just looking at it,” veteran calligrapher Cho Su-ho said.

While the magnified, digitalized name board stirred the nation, Hangeul fans and organizations also pointed out that the name board ought to be written in Hangeul for various reasons.

“The very name ‘Gwanghwamun’ was made by King Sejong, who invented Hangeul. By using the Korean alphabet, it will be an effective way to prove the king’s philosophy which enabled him to create it,” the Hangeul Association said through a press release.

However, some veteran calligraphers and experts called for the original Chinese character version, saying that it was better to stick to the original since Gwanghwamun is a restoration, not a new construction.

“It’s easier to deliver the message through Chinese characters when using an ancient word like ‘Gwanghwamun’ because each character carries an individual meaning,” said Won Joong-sik, another famous traditional calligrapher.

The CHA announced Monday that it will hold a meeting regarding the new name board, Wednesday, with a seven-member committee of artists, historians and architects. The administration added that it had inspected the board from November last year to late December and that they will hold a series of meetings and further inspections with an open mind until making a final decision.