Newsletter

Jeon Ho-tae

professor in the Department of History and Culture at the University of Ulsan

After graduating from the Department of Korean History at Seoul National University, Professor Jeon obtained a master’s of art and a doctoral degree from the university’s graduate school. Professor Jeon currently works as a professor at the University of Ulsan, after having worked as a researcher in the fine arts division of the National Museum of Korea. Professor Jeon has worked as a visiting professor at the Institute of East Asian Studies, UC Berkeley, and the Korea Institute of Harvard University, from 1988 through 1993. Professor Jeon is also an expert member of the Cultural Heritage Administration and chairman of the Korea Petroglyphs Research Association. Professor Jeon’s theses and books include, Study of Goguryeo Tomb Murals, The World of Goguryeo Tomb Murals, Studies of the Goguryeo People’s Life and Culture, Secret Door Hwanmunchong, Why Did Goguryeo People Paint Murals? and Meeting the Goguryeo Tomb Murals.

The most difficult problem that presents itself when studying Goguryeo history is that there is not a lot of primary written data remaining from this time. Thus, the Goguryeo tomb murals that display images from everyday life at this time and their concepts about afterlife become the most valuable materials in Goguryeo historical research. Professor Jeon Ho-tae, who recently published the book Meeting with Goguryeo Tomb Murals at the Northeast Asian History Foundation, has studied Goguryeo tomb morals for 30 years and become a worldwide authority on murals. Professor Jeon won the fifth academic award presented by the Association of Koguryeo Balhae earlier this year for his research, Aesthetics of Koguryo People and Tomb Murals. Senior Researcher Ko Kwang-eui, who had been responsible for the digital restoration of Goguryeo tomb murals at the Foundation, met with Professor Jeon to talk about the professor’s new book and research on Goguryeo tomb murals.

Q

You have been studying Goguryeo mural paintings for a long time. What sparked your interest in this subject matter? 

A

I had hoped to enter the Department of Archaeology and Art History, as I originally had great interest in paintings. However, because his department was very unpopular, I debated whether or not I should be one of the very few students studying in this field. So I ended up studying in the Department of Korean History with a minor in archaeology and art history. My interest in murals began when I began taking courses for my minor. My first job was in the art department of the National Museum of Korea, where I learned how to “read” paintings and study murals properly. I think I was able to study ancient tomb murals in depth because I had become a curator. This gave me the ability to read scholarly journals from China and North Korea, that were inaccessible to ordinary people.

Q

It is my understanding that Goguryeo tomb murals remain in North Korea and China. It must not have been easy to study Goguryeo tomb murals when you first began. When was it possible for you actually see the murals in person while performing your research?

A

I wrote my first thesis in 1988, but I couldn’t actually go see the murals in person at this time. I didn’t think that I would ever be able to see the murals when I began my research. Incidentally, when I decided to study Goguryeo tomb murals, my teachers and classmates discouraged me from doing so. Back then, there were East-West tensions, as well as the division of the Korean Peninsula. But as the Iron Curtain and the Bamboo Curtain were pulled down, the Asian Society for History held a meeting in Changchun, China, in April 1991. Fortunately, I happened to attend that conference in which scholars from South and North Korea, China, and Japan all took part. I got the chance to participate as I was a curator at the national museum and was studying Goguryeo tomb murals. This was the first time that I was able to see Goguryeo tomb murals in real life. This was a really exciting time for me because I thought that I wouldn’t live to see the day that I would be able to encounter Goguryeo mural paintings and see them with my own eyes. Despite my excitement, I felt at ease when I entered the ancient tombs of Gakjeochong and Ohoebun No. 5 Tomb in Gungnae Fortress, Jian. This is probably because I had imagined this experience for a long time. Other people took turns entering the tombs in four groups of five or six, but I stayed inside the tombs the entire time. I came back with vivid memories of all the murals sketched into my mind. I visited Gangseodaemyo, Deokheungri Mural Tomb, and Anak No. 3 Tomb as a member of the inter-Korean joint academic research group. Every time that I was able to encounter the murals, I felt a shudder and thrill that I can’t begin to describe. This is what happened when I visited Pyongyang – North Korean guides usually leave the tombs just minutes later because of the prejudices surrounding them. It’s cool and very humid inside tombs. Cameras usually get wet within just two minutes of entering the tombs, making filming very difficult. One becomes drenched in sweat. Despite all of this, I was truly delighted to be able to see murals inside the tombs with my own eyes.

Q

We can see how great your interest and passion for ancient tomb murals are. If tombs are ordinarily structures created for the dead, then why did the people of Goguryeo put so much work into the tomb murals? Did the Goguryeo tomb murals change at all, depending on when they were painted?

A

All processes and outcomes associated with funerals, including funeral arts, were not necessarily devoted to the deceased individual. It is the same as Egypt’s pyramids that demonstrate the authority and power of the ruling class, including that of the pharaohs, and give the public a sense of pride as the people of a great nation. The same applies to Goguryeo. Moreover, the relationship between the living and the dead deepens as it dates back to ancient times. People at this time believed that the living and the dead were connected to each other and were mutually influenced. An epitaph in Deokheungri Mural Tomb shows phrases that say, “As funerals were held carefully on a chosen good day,” the epitaph expresses a wish that, “Wealth would reach seven generations, resulting in the prospering of descendants and their public posts rising day after day, becoming kings and feudal lords.” Descendants have every reason to devote themselves to funerals. Besides, before Buddhism came here, aristocrats were supposed to be aristocrats in the next world after death so tombs were created and murals were painted as such.

I feel like it is important to first mention Buddhism when it comes to talking about Goguryeo tomb murals. Buddhism brought about great changes to East Asians’ views on afterlife. Beliefs that stated that human relations and social order in this world and the next weren’t much different caused people to pay more attention to the life in the world to come. Because doctrines of reincarnation and karma state that good deeds in this world become a factor to determine one’s life form in the next world, one cannot help but be nervous. That’s why tomb murals in the middle of Goguryeo contain scenes of individuals presenting offerings to Buddha, as opposed to scenes of everyday life, with themes of lotus ornaments. Tombs from the latter period were transformed into spaces guarded by the four gods and the ceilings of the tombs were decorated with paintings of the ascetic flying in the sky with the elixir of life. All of this can be interpreted as phenomena having occurred while the belief of the ascetic advocating perennial youth and longevity became widely popular.

Q

We probably can’t count North Korea out when it comes to talking about Goguryeo tomb murals. Goguryeo tomb murals were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage property in 2004, thanks to South and North Korea’s common interest and efforts. This also prompted the formation of an inter-Korean joint research group. Recently, how has research on Goguryeo tomb murals that were excavated in North Korea and their preservation been going?

A

More than 10 tomb murals have been discovered in North Korea over the recent few years. The news will probably break in the near future that new tomb murals were discovered in Pyongyang, Nampo, Anak, and so on. When I conducted field surveys in 2004 and 2005, many remains believed to have been Goguryeo tombs were seen on the roads between Pyongyang and Nampo, and Pyongyang and Anak. However, the problem is: “how can research and preservation be compatible?” Both South and North Korea have only a few expert researchers in this field. As time passes, the preserved conditions of remains continue to get worse.

This problem needs to seriously be tackled at the national level, a level that goes beyond the Foundation. It’s necessary to perform inter-Korean joint research and preservation activities more actively. Also, there must be a separate research institute in charge of these activities. A considerable number of Goguryeo remains were designated as World Heritage sites but their preservation and research are absurdly insignificant and incomplete.

Q

It’s not easy to determine how to make research and preservation compatible. You said earlier that the number of researchers was noticeably small and there are particularly very few researchers studying Goguryeo tomb murals. Why is that?

A

I get very frustrated whenever I am asked questions like this. In Korea, there is a tendency to stick to short-term results in the study of history. However, Goguryeo is very far from short-term achievements. Because Silla is a place in which short-term achievements can be made most easily, the number of researchers studying Silla continues to rise. But it’s not easy to produce short-term results in the case of Goguryeo. Research on murals, in particular, is only possible if researchers fully know at least four disciplines – archaeology and art history, bibliographic history, religious studies, and folklore. But there are problems because our scholarly ecosystem intercepts such disciplines and revolves around academic disciplines. It’s necessary for us to diversify our academic research and build a righteous academic ecosystem, even if our efforts do not measure up to China’s Northeast Project.

Q

The Foundation has been carrying out digital restoration of Uzbekistan’s Afrosiyab paintings, including Goguryeo tomb murals. Please tell us your opinions on this restoration, its results, and its shortcomings.

A

Sensitive ruins like murals are vulnerable to extinction and their preserved conditions worsen in any form with the lapse of time. So it’s necessary to digitize all remains, if possible. Paintings, in particular, most definitely require digitization. In the cases of Gakjeochong and Muyongchong, discovered in 1935, almost all scenes remained. Yet the photos taken in 1990 show that about 40% of what was preserved is now gone. Since then, a variety of methods, including coating, have been employed. But my guess is that their conditions have worsened. The digitization of Afrosiyab paintings is significant but the fact that its project period is short is quite regrettable, at least in my opinion. In fact, when the period of a project is set for a year, the actual work period is six months or so. What do you think can be done within those six months? A project period this short means presents a difficulty in performing meticulous work. Therefore, I think that high-definition work is needed, bringing along with it a necessity for more time and funding. This is intended to make it infinitely extendable while making it possible for people to experience a space broader than the original space, as opposed to one-to-one restoration.

Q

Now I would like to discuss your book Meeting with Goguryeo Tomb Murals published recently by the Foundation. Can you talk a little about what the book is about and how it’s different from other books? Please tell us what you paid attention to most while writing the book.

A

The Foundation asked me to write the book, explaining their decision to publish a series of educational paperback books. Because the book was to be paperback, I thought it would be important to skip over the professional explanations as much as possible, but to still contribute true and faithful content. So I tried to explain how tomb murals were rediscovered, their historical and cultural significance and value, examples of major murals, and survey experiences concerning tomb murals using easy sentences. What I cared about most while writing the book was to make the book easily readable because it was a paperback for popular reading. Writing easy-to-read books has been attempted for a long time, but is never easy. Unlike other books published so far, my latest book contains what I experienced personally while scrutinizing Goguryeo tomb murals as a supplement – my recollection of the past. Field experiences are usually included in writings done by researchers, which is necessary for the sake of the readers’ right to know.

Q

Finally, can you share with us your plans in the future as a researcher of Goguryeo tomb murals.

A

Source books concerning mural tombs have not been published yet. They are basic research materials, often called tool books and written by researchers, and the task will likely become my responsibility. I hope to publish one next year. I have materials worth reading from the scenes of hunting in Muyongchong that could fill a book and I expect to publish it in autumn. Aside from this, I am going to continue to write using a storytelling method in a form that can be understood by the public. I think historians should be able to compose historical writings using a narrative that can be interesting to and understood by the public. My first book was a history book with pictures of Goguryeo murals for kindergartners and my second book was a guidebook on Goguryeo murals I wrote as a Children’s Day present for my daughter who was in the first grade of primary school. I wrote research papers with dedication but my books were usually for children and ordinary readers, in the form of educational materials. Of course, research books were next. Previously, I tried explaining one mural scene in depth, but I am now endeavoring to write more stories focusing on sympathy and sharing, such as stories about tomb murals and Goguryeo combined with imagination. I am also thinking about writing essays or books of poetry and paintings.