Preserving value of Korean culture

Sungnyemun in central Seoul during its public reopening in May 2013, after a five-year restoration effort following an arson attack in 2008.
/ Korea Times file

This is the third interview in a special series on culture and sports leaders. — Ed.

Cultural Heritage Administrator Rha Sun-hwa
/ Courtesy of Lee Soo-jin

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Seven years ago, Sungnyemun Gate, one of the remaining gates in the Fortress Wall of Seoul also known as Namdaemun, was burnt down by an arsonist. Since it has the symbolic value of being the number one national treasure, the fire shocked the nation. The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) immediately began a restoration project that took five years, but the hasty execution of the restoration plan backfired, leaving problems such as a deterioration of the Korean traditional decorative painting "dancheong" and use of imported lumber.

After an investigation by the Board of Audit and Inspection, CHA replaced its head to make a fresh resolution in late 2013. Now, Rha Sun-hwa, administrator of CHA in her second year, is at the center of the reform of the governmental agency in charge of the preservation, management and promotion of the Korean cultural heritage.

"We are bringing about an innovation in the whole organization. Last year we cleaned up messes from the Sungnyemun restorations and improved systems for a major shake-up," Rha said at an interview with The Korea Times.

Rha, a graduate of Department of History at Ewha Womans University, is an expert in Korean cultural properties. She was a member of the Cultural Heritage Committee from 2005 to 2013 and frequently collaborated with the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, before being appointed to the administrator position.

"I considered myself as a specialist in cultural heritage, far from public post. But I was offered the post because I was dissociated from the interests of party," Rha said.

For the Sungnyemun restoration, Rha pointed out the lack of a plan and a misunderstanding of traditional techniques as the reasons for the failure.

"CHA should have checked how much of the traditional techniques are handed down and how the master artisans could restore it in traditional ways, but it went straight to the actual site without experimenting the techniques," Rha said. "For instance, there are historical documents describing the procedure of coloring dancheong, but not step-by-step instructions. The stone color should be melted in glue, but it does not say for how long. This is a minor detail that should have been tested beforehand, but such process was omitted."

Rha said that CHA is now collaborating with the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage to develop the traditional paint and it is going to be a long-term project which will take at least five years.

"Restoration and preservation of cultural assets are not like modern-day constructions with a completion date set in advance. If we want to do it in a traditional way, we need time to experiment and prove the techniques based on historical evidence. This is the new outlook for restoration by CHA," Rha said.

From ruins to theme park

To root out illegalities and corruption at excavation or cultural heritage restoration process, Rha decided to open up the sites to the public. "If the site is open for the public, the restorers will be faithful and the people will understand why it takes so long," the administrator said.

Among the historic sites excavated, the site on Jungdo Island in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, is at the center of the attention now. The site is planned to be developed into a Legoland theme park by 2017, but over 900 homes and 101 stone mounds dating back to the Bronze Age were found at the ground during the preliminary excavation, putting the site into controversy.

While civic organizations strongly oppose the construction of the Lego-themed amusement park citing the historical importance of the site and need of preservation, Rha has more practical ideas to the development.

"Just burying the remains as they are is not the best answer all the time. Sometimes, we can increase their value by excavating and displaying them in the right way," Rha said. "We are thinking of building a site museum there. Legoland will attract many visitors, including children and when they visit Legoland, they can also learn about Korea's history back to the Bronze Age. We could collaborate with Legoland and make the signature Mandolin-shaped bronze dagger with Lego blocks. It could provide a unique experience for Legoland Korea visitors with our rich history."

Rha added that this could help publicize Korea's long history dating back to Gojoseon (2333 B.C.-108 B.C.) in the context of world history.

In search of Korean spirit

The year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan and CHA puts a lot of effort into discovering and keeping alive the spiritual culture of Korea.

"Cultural properties are not just old relics but have culture and spirituality in it. Preserving them is establishing our identity. It applies to all cultural assets, whether they are tangible or not," Rha said. "Industrialization brought material affluence to human society, but our mentality has been devastated. Korea has a rich tradition of Eastern philosophy, which is the key to healing mental troubles."

In an attempt to conserve Korean moral culture, CHA is inviting public participation to gather the Korean spirit. "Intangible spirits such as thoughts of loyalty and filial piety and the invention of the Korean alphabet 'hangeul' are something we should preserve and hand down to our descendants. I believe that Korean spiritual culture is vital for society," Rha said.