Starbucks to donate independence activist's calligraphy

Chief Director of The National Trust for Cultural Heritage Kim Jong-gyu, second from left, poses with Starbucks Korea CEO Song Ho-seob, third from left, during the donation ceremony of the handwritten calligraphy of Buddhist poet and independence activist “Manhae” Han Yong-un, “Jeondaebupryun,” at Deoksu Palace in Seoul, on Friday. Courtesy of Starbucks Korea

By Kim Jae-heun

Starbucks Korea has donated Buddhist poet “Manhae” Han Yong-un's handwritten calligraphy relic, “Jeondaebeopryun,” to The National Trust for Cultural Heritage in celebration of 103th anniversary of the upcoming March 1st Movement Day.

Starbucks Korea purchased the masterpiece through funds it raised to protect cultural heritage related to the independence movement last year.

The phrase, Jeondaebeopryun, was written by Han allegedly in the twilight years of his life. The four characters directly translate to, “the wheel of law largely rolls on,” which means, “the world of great truth does not stay constant, but continually changes.”

“The relic is the only work by Han that was handwritten in such a large scale. The piece also contains his spirit of great freedom and it has great historical significance and value,” the senior curator at the Seoul Arts Center, Lee Dong-guk, said.

Starbucks Korea has been donating a number of Korean cultural assets so as to protect and preserve them.

The coffee house chain has already given away many relics related to Korean independence movement leaders Kim Gu and Ahn Chang-ho, starting from 2015.

Chief Director of The National Trust for Cultural Heritage Kim Jong-gyu thanked Starbucks Korea for its efforts to protect the cultural relics by local independence activists and promised to hand them down to future generations.

“It is one of our meaningful activities to raise funds and donate cultural heritage related to the independence movement together with our customers. We will continue to work hard on protecting Korea's cultural assets while increasing people's interest in them,” Starbucks Korea CEO Song Ho-seob said.

Meanwhile, Starbucks Korea signed an agreement with the Cultural Heritage Administration in 2009 to preserve traditional culture, donate cultural assets and sponsor scholarships for the descendants of independence activists.

The company has been creating various products with traditional designs for every Independence Movement Day, using the profits to raise funds.

This year, Starbucks Korea will sell two mugs containing drawings of Korea's national flower, the mugunghwa, or rose of Sharon.