By Kim Tong-hyung
Byun Young-sup, a college professor and opinionated civic activist before she took the helm at the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) in March, had been one of President Park Geun-hye's most controversial hires. On Friday, she was announced as a glaring mistake.
Government sources confirmed that Korea's top manager of cultural assets was sacked over problems exposed at the renewed Sungnyemun, the historical Seoul city gate that reopened in May after damage from a 2008 arson attack was repaired.
Park, who had been Byun's staunchest supporter, expressed frustration earlier this week over the condition of the gate which is listed as Korea's No. 1 National Treasure. The gate fails to resemble a refreshed cultural asset; covered in hardened, cracking paint and some of its wooden columns and beams splitting or tweaking out of place.
However, Byun's firing still came as a surprise as she had little influence over the Sungnyemun restoration process and had just launched an inspection committee to take a deeper look into the problems plaguing the gate.
''Cheong Wa Dae called Byun in the morning and informed her of its decision that she should leave. She did not express a desire to step down first,'' said a CHA official. Byun was unreachable for comment.
During her seven months at the CHA, Byun found herself plenty of critics, but mostly for reasons other than Sungnyemun.
The former Korea University art history professor had headed a civic group campaigning for the preservation of the rock engravings at the Bangudae archeological site near Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province.
Upon arriving at the administration, she replaced a number of senior officials who had previously clashed with her and replaced them with allies from her activist days. One such friend was a professor at the National University of Cultural Heritage who was accused of sexually harassing students.
Byun's stubbornness with issues related to Bangudae was a frequent source of conflict. She caused a stir in May by rejecting a proposal by the governing Saenuri Party to build a dike to protect the frequently-submerged rock engravings and instead called for Ulsan to lower the water levels at Sayeon Dam instead. The city balked at the demand as that would cause water supply problems for its 1.1 million citizens.
Eventually, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won stepped in and forced Byun to accept a compromise, which was to install a variable-height dam with transparent walls around the petroglyphs.
Byun was also criticized for her indecisiveness. In May, she overruled an earlier decision made by the CHA's own cultural heritage committee and prevented the National Museum of Korea from letting a national treasure sculpture be shown at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
She backtracked from that decision just days later and now the 7th-century gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation is the highlight of the Met's ''Silla: Korea's Golden Kingdom'' exhibition.
It would be hard to say that Sungnyemun was a problem Byun brought to the table. But it was definitely the most convenient reason to take away her seat.
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| Byun Young-sup |
Government sources confirmed that Korea's top manager of cultural assets was sacked over problems exposed at the renewed Sungnyemun, the historical Seoul city gate that reopened in May after damage from a 2008 arson attack was repaired.
Park, who had been Byun's staunchest supporter, expressed frustration earlier this week over the condition of the gate which is listed as Korea's No. 1 National Treasure. The gate fails to resemble a refreshed cultural asset; covered in hardened, cracking paint and some of its wooden columns and beams splitting or tweaking out of place.
However, Byun's firing still came as a surprise as she had little influence over the Sungnyemun restoration process and had just launched an inspection committee to take a deeper look into the problems plaguing the gate.
''Cheong Wa Dae called Byun in the morning and informed her of its decision that she should leave. She did not express a desire to step down first,'' said a CHA official. Byun was unreachable for comment.
During her seven months at the CHA, Byun found herself plenty of critics, but mostly for reasons other than Sungnyemun.
The former Korea University art history professor had headed a civic group campaigning for the preservation of the rock engravings at the Bangudae archeological site near Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province.
Upon arriving at the administration, she replaced a number of senior officials who had previously clashed with her and replaced them with allies from her activist days. One such friend was a professor at the National University of Cultural Heritage who was accused of sexually harassing students.
Byun's stubbornness with issues related to Bangudae was a frequent source of conflict. She caused a stir in May by rejecting a proposal by the governing Saenuri Party to build a dike to protect the frequently-submerged rock engravings and instead called for Ulsan to lower the water levels at Sayeon Dam instead. The city balked at the demand as that would cause water supply problems for its 1.1 million citizens.
Eventually, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won stepped in and forced Byun to accept a compromise, which was to install a variable-height dam with transparent walls around the petroglyphs.
Byun was also criticized for her indecisiveness. In May, she overruled an earlier decision made by the CHA's own cultural heritage committee and prevented the National Museum of Korea from letting a national treasure sculpture be shown at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
She backtracked from that decision just days later and now the 7th-century gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation is the highlight of the Met's ''Silla: Korea's Golden Kingdom'' exhibition.
It would be hard to say that Sungnyemun was a problem Byun brought to the table. But it was definitely the most convenient reason to take away her seat.
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