Yoo Hong-jun pens travelogue on Japan

Yoo Hong-jun, the former director of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), rose to literary stardom through a series of travelogues. Inset: The latest addition to "My Survey of Cultural Heritage" series covers Korea-related sites in Japan. / Korea Times

By Baek Byung-yeul

Yoo Hong-jun will release a new edition of his bestselling travelogue, “My Survey of Cultural Heritage,” which introduces a slew of hidden picturesque of the Korean Peninsula, covering both southern and northern parts. This time, Yoo broadened his interest to overseas ― Japan.

Yoo stressed that he wanted to estimate how cultural exchange between the peninsula and Japan have been conducted and shed light on how Japan has developed their peculiar culture in a recent interview with Yonhap News.

The Japan edition is comprised of two volumes; Yoo traveled to Kyushu in the first volume and Asuka and Nara region for the second.

In the Kyushu part, entitled “The light comes from the Korean Peninsula,” Yoo sheds light on how the Korean Peninsula affected the cultivation of ancient Japan’s culture. From Korea, Kyushu is the closest island of the four main islands in Japan.

In Asuka and Nara areas, Yoo focuses on aesthetic values of Japan’s unique culture, perambulating historic sites such as Buddhist temples in the region.

The Asuka region, currently located in Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region, was an ancient capital during the Asuka period (538-710), and is known to have gone through cultural interchange with Baekje (18 B.C.-660 A.D.), an ancient kingdom of the Korean Peninsula.

The “Cultural Heritage” series, which was first published in 1993, has sold more than 3.3 million copies, making it the highest selling publication in the liberal arts category in Korea.

The 64-year-old professor said he will wrap up his travelogue series after dealing with China and some other desirable places in Korea.

The new “Cultural Heritage” will be released next Wednesday, and is now available for pre-orders through online book stores. Each volume costs 16,500 won.

Yoo is the former director of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and professor of the Myongji University.