There are a lot of restoration projects going on throughout Korea - the recent opening of the Royal Library at Kyungbok Palace - which was closed to the public for a little over 40 years when Pak Chunghee had that part of the palace made into a very secure military base. In fact, other parts of the palace are also being redone - such as the visiting officials’ guest-housing, Queen Min’s quarters, and now we hear that the Kwanghwa gate is to be moved and reduced in size - correcting the nefarious activities of the Japanese when they owned (illegally) Korea. These are great things - but these great finds and movements are not just here in Seoul but also on the American army bases. The Choson Ilbo’s English page had this to say:
All kinds of important cultural artifacts including Bronze Age dolmen, burial mounds from the Three Kingdoms Period (57 BC - AD 676) and Buddhist statues from the Koryo period have been uncovered at U.S. Forces Korea bases across the nation but largely neglected. Grand National Party Rep. Kim Yang-soo on Tuesday disclosed a government report on a study of the cultural artifacts found at USFK bases since 2002. According to the report, the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage confirmed that burial mounds dating back to the Three Kingdoms on the Mu Juk (“invincible”) USFK Marine base in Pohang have been left untouched since being looted during the Japanese occupation of Korea.
I think the title could have been a little better and a little less misleading…..
3 Comments
“I think the title could have been a little better and a little less misleading…..”
Yes and no. I think the title is refering to the findings of the report. A big problem with the article is that isn’t cohesive. Worse yet, it mentions the renovation of the palace, as if to show that Koreans are doing something to protect Korean heritage, but the USFK isn’t.
As if this is insufficient. If they lasted since the Shilla Kingdom was in style they’ll last until the US pulls out or moves the base. Not ***king with things ought to be enough.
That bullshit - playing the Japan card to distract attention from the fact that the only reason the gate is going to be moved is to realign it wth Sejongno, which is going to be cropped of four lanes. It’s bad enough that they’re going to fuck up the traffic pattern; now they’re going to destroy the symmetry of the refurbished palace