Cultural heritage agency's reputation is at its worst in 15th year
By Do Je-hae
It was in 1999 when Korea established, for the first time, a separate government agency to oversee the preservation of cultural heritage rather than charging a culture ministry department with the task.
As the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) marks its 15th year, it is facing harsh criticism for deserting its key mission. The CHA will have a subdued ceremony at its Daejeon headquarters on Thursday.
Many will agree that CHA has little to celebrate. The anniversary comes at a grim time for the agency. Just last week, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) issued a verdict that the agency had failed in rebuilding the No.1 National Treasure Sungnyemun Gate which suffered critical damage a few years ago.
The historical Seoul city gate reopened in May last year after damage from a 2008 arson attack. After a five-year restoration project, the paint on the gate was peeling and some of its wooden columns and beams were cracking, which is far from what the public had expected to see. The renovation of the national treasure, also known as Namdaemun, has caused much embarrassment to the organization in the last few months.
The BAI issued a report on May 15, concluding that the failure of the restoration comes from a lack of proper oversight in construction and trying to get things done too quickly. The BAI report read: "Fixing cultural heritage is a lengthy undertaking. Problems have occurred because the construction was rushed to meet a deadline."
The BAI notified the agency to re-do some of the key areas of the gate, including the “dancheong,” or traditional multicolored paintwork on ancient buildings, and roof. If the CHA were to undertake the BAI's instructions, the agency would need to spend 2.1 billion won. The BAI also instructed the agency to take disciplinary action against high-level officials who were in charge of the restoration.
The CHA's position is that it will respect BAI's findings. "Based on the findings, we will punish those responsible for the irregularities and come up with efficient measures to assuage concerns about the future of Sungnyemun," CHA administrator Rha Sun-hwa said.
The ancient wooden gate in the capital is one of four that allowed entry into Seoul during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910).
Like most Korean government agencies, CHA has rarely had a strong, lasting leadership that combines both expertise and administrative knowhow.
The restoration controversy led to the removal of Byun Young-sup, former head of CHA, only eight months after she was named to the post. When Rah was appointed early this year, she was bombarded with questions about how to deal with the aftermath of the restoration failure during her first meeting with the press.
"These circumstances have led many people to lose their respect for the work we do. And such mistrust from the people has led to a loss of motivation. I hope to turn this around and instill a renewed sense of determination for all of us to improve upon our past failures," Rha said.
The BAI additionally found that many other national treasures were suffering from severe damages, such as Cheomseongdae, an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia. It is slightly tilting every year, but the BAI report found that Gyeongju City Administration has yet to properly address the issue.
The BAI also said that the agency needs to take better care of looted treasures that have been repatriated to Korea.
The controversial restoration of Sungnyemun prompted the government to launch an extensive inspection of more than 6,000 cultural heritage assets nationwide last year as a fundamental overhaul of the cultural property management system. A total of 6,752 cultural heritage items will be subject to careful inspections by experts throughout the year.