[Anchor]

An artwork that was exhibited at the National Museum of Korea as the calligraphy of an independence fighter has been quietly removed. It was raised that the piece may be the work of a pro-Japanese collaborator rather than an independence fighter. As our reporting began, the museum issued a hasty apology yesterday afternoon. How can we compensate for the tears shed by the descendant of a patriotic martyr in front of that calligraphy?

Reporter An Huijae has the story.

[Reporter]

An elderly man with gray hair kneels and weeps in front of a scroll of calligraphy.

This single photograph taken at the National Museum of Korea recently became a hot topic.

The owner of the calligraphy was introduced as independence activist Park Won-geun, and the elderly man shedding tears is his son, Park Yong-hyun.

He had believed he was encountering the traces of his father for the first time, having longed for him without a single remaining keepsake.

[Park Yong-hyun / Son of Patriotic Martyr Park Won-geun (August 2020): There is what they call an 'under surveillance by Japanese imperialism card,' and my father appears on it. (Other than that) I only have intermittent memories of my father....]

However, three days later, the museum removed the calligraphy without any special notice, and a poem was hung in its place instead.

[Exhibition Official (Yesterday afternoon): It has been replaced. Due to personal reasons....]

Two days after quietly pulling the artwork down, when SBS's reporting began yesterday, the National Museum of Korea released an official apology, and today, Director Yu Hong-jun personally bowed his head.

The explanation was that "it was withdrawn for verification because there is a possibility it is the work of a person with the same name," and absurdly, that person with the same name is known to have been designated as a representative pro-Japanese collaborator.

It is known that Park Jung-yang, a member of the Imperial Diet of Japan who is known to have taken the lead in suppressing the March 1st Movement, had the same name, Park Won-geun, before changing his name.

The museum stated, "The owner of the artifact said it was the work of activist Park," and added, "We are comparing and appraising the handwriting after receiving a tip-off following the exhibition," and "We acknowledge the shortcomings in the verification process."

The family of activist Park attended a Blue House invitation event for descendants of persons of national merit today.

[President Lee Jae-myung: We will fulfill the state's responsibility and duty to ensure that there is no deficiency in protecting the honor and lives of your forebears and yourselves.]

While the descendants of activist Park expressed bewilderment at the news that the piece might actually be the handwriting of a pro-Japanese collaborator who tormented independence fighters, they stated that it would not be right as descendants of a patriotic martyr to take the lead in tarnishing the prestige of a state institution, asking only that the museum "make an effort to figure out the truth."

The National Museum of Korea, which has set out to prepare measures to prevent recurrence, is the state institution with the highest authority in Korea's cultural sector, and it seems difficult for the museum to avoid criticism for losing face due to poor verification of artifacts.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Reported by Jeong Sang-bo and Lee Chan-soo | Video editing by Choi Hye-ran | Design by Han Heung-soo, Lee So-jung, Kim Han-gil, and Jeon Yu-geun)