뉴스레터

On February 23, 2017, the Northeast Asian History Foundation's Research Institute of Korea-China Relations jointly held an academic conference with Seoul Baekje Museum under the theme "Latest Results of Research on Koguryo Mural Tombs." The purpose of the conference was to celebrate the "Special Exhibition on Koguryo Tomb Murals" held at the Seoul Baekje Museum from December 29, 2016 to March 5, 2017. The special exhibition was organized based on replicas, restorations, and digital material provided by the Northeast Asian History Foundation (NAHF) and Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (KCRC).

Tomb murals are the highlight of the cultural heritage left by the ancient Korean kingdom Koguryo because of how vividly they have captured the life and spirit of its people. For being outstanding works of art in themselves, they have been designated as a cultural heritage to all mankind by becoming inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage list. Unfortunately, most of the tombs that contain murals are located either in China or North Korea, which makes it difficult to gain access to them. In that respect, the replicas, restorations, and digital reproductions displayed through the recent "Special Exhibition on Koguryo Tomb Murals" has somewhat quenched desires to study the originals. And the conference added academic significance to the exhibition by covering the latest sources and research trends on Koguryo mural tombs and examining the displayed replicas, restorations, and digital reproductions from diverse angles. A total of four research papers were presented at the academic conference.

Current Investigation of Koguryo Remains in China and North Korea

Jeong Dong-min, a lecturer at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, offered a presentation on "Current Investigation and Latest Research Results on Mural Tombs and Koguryo Remains in China." Since 2000, around the time when Koguryo tomb murals became designated as a UNESCO world heritage, tombs at the Chinese town of Ji'an became excavated extensively. A number of new material was uncovered from those excavations and sparked animated discussions over previous estimations made on the year of construction or owner of mural tombs in the area. Such developments launched a new field of research on the history of livelihood and culture that requires interdisciplinary research, which has contributed to the raising quality of research. Based on the summary he gave about recent research trends, Jeong Dong-min shared a positive outlook on future prospects for research. Yet, he also mentioned his concern over the constant damage being done to mural tombs and other Koguryo remains and pointed out the urgent need to come up with better measures to preserve them.

The paper presented by Professor Zheng Jingri (鄭京日) of Yanbian University was on "The Status and Challenges Surrounding the Newly Surveyed Koguryo Mural Tombs in North Korea." Nearly no notable findings have been made from Koguryo remains in North Korea due to a lack of excavation and investigation for almost two decades since the 1980s. However, surveys have been resumed after 2000 and resulted in the discovery of around ten Koguryo mural tombs including the No. 3 tomb in Taeseong-ri and other tombs in Songjuk-ri, Okdo-ri, and Cheondeok-ri. Professor Zheng Jingri was able to introduce in detail the latest results from surveys done by the Academy of Social Sciences in North Korea because he personally participated in those surveys with sponsorship from NAHF. The professor stated that "the discovery of the Okdo-ri mural tomb has been very meaningful in that it was a progress jointly made by North Korea, China, and NAHF," and shared his hopes for further close international cooperation and joint investigation to actively take place in the future.

East-West Cultural Exchange and Digital Restoration

The presentation given by Professor Park Ah-rim of Sookmyung Women's University was about "Characteristics of Murals from the Wei, Jin, and Northern Dynasties Based on Recently Uncovered Sources." Mural tombs were made not only in Koguryo, but other East Asian countries such as Wei, Jin, the Northern Dynasties as well as the dynasties of Sui and Tang. Studies comparing mural tombs of such dynasties with those of Koguryo began since the 1980s and their scope has continued to grow wider with the constant discovery of new sources. Professor Park particularly focused her attention on mural tombs uncovered around the regions of Gansu (甘肅省) and Xinjiang (新彊省). According to Professor Park's analysis, murals in tombs from the two regions have been heavily influenced by Central Asian cultures, which is why they are most likely to be helpful in identifying such cultural characteristics among the multiple cultural influences that Koguryo mural tombs embody.

NAHF research fellow Ko Kwang-eui and Professor Seo Yong of Dongduk Women's University together gave a presentation on "Replicating and Restoring Koguryo Tomb Murals." Rapid development of digital technology has now made it possible to generate hyper-reality, which means to reproduce things that appear to be more real than the original, even to the point where some dare to say that hyper-reality dictates reality. In that sense, the digital reproductions of murals and tombs displayed at the special exhibition could seem more real than the originals because the reproductions were based on what the originals looked like before they became damaged. Doctor Ko and Professor Seo provided an introduction to the reproduction process of securing sources about the original, recreating the original in 2D and 3D formats, mapping, and building a website that allows users to virtually experience the remains. The two experts underlined that such efforts helped launch a new genre called digital restoration that can serve as a means to preserve cultural heritages while continuing to study them.

The four presentations were followed by discussions about them between Director Lee Seong-je of the NAHF Research Institute of Korea-China Relations, Professor Baek Jong-oh of Korea National University of Transportation, Professor Kang Hyun-sook of Dongguk University, and Doctor Kim Jin-soon of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea with Professor Noh Tae-don of Seoul National University serving as the session's moderator. The discussion covered a range of different issues from fundamental ones related to the classification scheme of remains to more detailed matters involving the characteristics of individual remains. Talks during the session also touched upon possibilities for distortions to occur through restorations and ways to prevent such distortions.

The Northeast Asian History Foundation has spent the past ten years since its establishment on studying, collecting material, and providing compilations on the history and culture of Koguryo for both scholars and the public. The recent special exhibition and academic conference have been meaningful opportunities to make use of the progress the Foundation has made thus far and the Foundation hopes they will be lead to more in-depth studies and findings in the future.