1. An Independence Fighter Father with No Keepsakes... A Miracle Encountered at a Museum, But
The protagonist of the viral photo is Park Yong-hyun, the son of independence fighter Park Won-geun. Hailing from Boeun, North Chungcheong Province, fighter Park was an anti-Japanese activist who served prison time twice in the 1930s through the Saminhoe and Shin-ingurabu organizations in resistance to Japanese colonial rule. Following liberation and the outbreak of the Korean War, he was massacred by the Boeun Police in 1950, and his anti-Japanese achievements were recognized 60 years later through a 2020 report by SBS. At the time, Park Yong-hyun described his vague memories of his father as follows.

[Park Yong-hyun / Son of Patriotic Fighter Park Won-geun (August 2020) : "It's called an 'Japanese colonial surveillance target card,' and my father is listed there. (Aside from that) I only have sporadic memories of my father..."]

Back in those days, independence fighters rarely left behind proper keepsakes as they tried to evade the pursuit of Japanese authorities, and fighter Park was no exception. To the son who had lived with longing, tracing memories over decades, surprising news recently arrived. A piece of calligraphy written in fighter Park's own hand had been exhibited at the National Museum of Korea. Rushing to the exhibition hall, he found that the author of the calligraphy was clearly introduced as his father, and upon encountering his traces for the very first time, the son shed tears of joy. Ahead of Liberation Day, this story spread via social media and drew an outpouring of attention. Reactions poured in praising the National Museum of Korea for doing a wonderful job, but the real trouble unfolded afterward.

2. Turns Out to Be a 'Pro-Japanese' Calligraphy?... The National Museum Quietly Removes It
A tip was received by SBS reporting teams on the 11th that suspicions had been raised that the calligraphy keepsake might be the work of someone else, not fighter Park, and that it had been quietly removed. We went to check it out in person. In the spot where Park had shed tears of joy, only a single poem remained on display.

[Exhibition Official (Afternoon of the 11th) : "It has been replaced. Due to personal reasons..."]

When we asked the museum what those personal reasons were, the reply came back that a tip had been received after the exhibition suggesting it could be the work of a person with the same name, and judging that re-verification was necessary, it was pulled from the exhibition hall on the afternoon of the 10th. The work was taken down just three days after Park's visit, and reporting revealed that the person with the same name in question was none other than a prominent pro-Japanese figure. Park Jung-yang, a high-ranking pro-Japanese official identified as a member of the Imperial Diet of Japan and a leader in suppressing the March First Movement, is known to have shared the same pre-name-change name as fighter Park. With the claim surfacing that the calligraphy introduced as containing the spirit of an anti-Japanese independence fighter might actually be the trace of a pro-Japanese collaborator standing on the exact opposite side of history, the National Museum of Korea was turned upside down and hurriedly initiated a re-appraisal.

3. Why Did the National Museum Confidently Attribute It to a Patriotic Fighter?
This raises a question at this point. Why did the museum confidently label and explain it as the work of independence fighter Park Won-geun in the first place? The problematic calligraphy was featured in the National Museum of Korea's special exhibition "Our Dining Table," which opened on July 1st. The exhibition was planned with the intent to comprehensively cover South Korea's food culture. It is understood that they secured this privately owned piece of calligraphy while searching around for keepsakes that fit this concept. The Chinese characters written on the work, "General Political Situation," mean that even a single bowl of rice is a grace from the country, and are known as the sayings of Master Yeonggyu, the first monk-commander of the Imjin War. In one corner of the work, it reads "Korean Park Won-geun." The museum explained that because the artifact owner stated it was fighter Park's work, and because the word "Korean" was added next to the name just like other patriotic fighters while quoting the sayings of a righteous army commander who fought against Japan, they harbored no suspicion whatsoever, especially lacking the notion that it could be the work of a pro-Japanese collaborator. They acknowledged that although they received prior consultation from various experts, there were ultimately shortcomings in the verification process. Pointing out that the National Museum of Korea is the nation's highest-authority cultural institution, the cultural community noted that even when exhibiting a single small artifact, it is said to undergo extremely rigorous procedures, making it difficult to understand how such an institution brought such shoddy verification controversy upon itself, thereby losing face. The museum, which had removed the calligraphy without a single notice, suddenly posted an apology through its website around the evening of the day our reporting began, and the next day, Director Yoo Hong-jun personally bowed his head and promised preventive measures, including multi-angle cross-verification of the artifact.

4. Is Figuring Out the Authenticity Not Even Easy?
There are people we must not forget. They are the descendants of independence fighter Park Won-geun, who shed tears of emotion believing the museum's explanation. We reached out to them. They could not hide their dismay at the thunderbolt news that, within just a few days, the keepsake might not be their ancestor's and might even be the handwriting of a pro-Japanese collaborator who tormented independence fighters. Nevertheless, they restrained their words, saying that taking the lead in damaging the dignity of a state institution would not be right as descendants of a patriotic fighter, and expressing hope that the museum would put effort into figuring out the truth. While this felt truly fitting for descendants of an independence fighter, the authenticity check they hope for does not look easy at present. As explained earlier, fighter Park left behind no keepsakes. There is no comparable object to check against fighter Park's handwriting. In essence, there was no proper scientific basis to conclude from the start that it was fighter Park's handwriting. The same holds true now as they embark on the re-appraisal process. The museum is first conducting comparative appraisals targeting Park Jung-yang's remaining handwriting, but experts opine that even if a conclusion is reached that it is not Park Jung-yang's work, that does not automatically mean it is the calligraphy of independence fighter Park Won-geun, as it could still belong to a third party, making truth-finding extremely difficult. The museum's stance is to examine the authenticity and announce a conclusion as early as the end of this month.

5. What Happened After the SBS Report?
Coincidentally, just one day after the museum issued its official apology, the descendants of fighter Park headed to the Blue House. They had been invited to an event for descendants of persons of national merit ahead of Liberation Day.

[President Lee Jae-myung : We will fulfill the state's responsibilities and duties so that there is no inadequacy in protecting the honor and lives of your forebears and you all.]

Following the SBS report, a descendant of fighter Park said, "Thank you for remembering independence fighter Park Won-geun and showing deep interest in our family's matter." They also requested, "We ask for your continued interest and support so that the museum's investigation can be conducted transparently." This likely reflects a desire for the state to fulfill its responsibilities and duties without inadequacy in protecting the honor and lives of the forebears and descendants who devoted themselves to reclaiming our lost sovereignty. The nation's highest cultural institution has been put to the test to see whether it can uncover the truth before the tears shed by an elderly person with white hair.

(Reported by An Huijae | Produced by Shin Hee-suk | Video by Bae Moon-san | Video Editing by Hong Jin-young | Design by Hye-min Yang | Produced by SBS Digital News)