Dutch YouTuber "Settlement for Graffiti Terror Donated to Korean War Veterans in Homeland"

2030 Male and Female Police Officers Booked
"Did Not Know It Was Artwork, Thought It Was Graffiti"

A Dutch YouTuber whose artwork was vandalized with graffiti has announced that he will donate the entire settlement money received from the vandals to a Dutch Korean War veterans organization.

On the 29th, Bart van Gnechten (31), a YouTuber who runs the Korean travel YouTube channel 'iGoBart', shared this news on his channel.

Previously, since September 2022, Bart had been releasing a series called 'Welcome to My Dong', exploring each neighborhood (a total of 467 legal neighborhoods) in Seoul one by one. He exhibited a Seoul map he completed by coloring the neighborhoods he visited, along with some photos taken during his travels, at a cultural complex in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, starting from the 9th of this month.

Artwork by Bart van der Leck damaged by graffiti. [Image source=YouTube channel 'Aigobart' (iGoBart)]

However, on the 15th, Bart announced via his social media that the map had been damaged. He said, "Some crazy people damaged my map. I can't believe someone would do such a thing," adding, "I invested blood, sweat, tears, and money into this map, so it’s shocking that it was destroyed."

The photos Bart shared showed graffiti on the artwork with phrases such as ‘OOO (name) is the best’, ‘OOO album fighting! Our country’s best producer’, and ‘Oppa, I love you’.

[Image source=YouTube channel 'AigoBart(iGoBart)']

Through YouTube, Bart said, "One of the reasons I like Korea and think it’s amazing is because things like this (vandalism) rarely happen, but unfortunately, it happened to me. At first, I thought it was done by children or students, but I was surprised to learn it was an adult man and woman."

He continued, "We were advised that the best solution was to reach a direct settlement with them, and regardless of the settlement, they would receive appropriate punishment. So we decided to do that, seriously thought about how much compensation we wanted, and informed them. They agreed."

Later, Bart announced that he would donate the entire settlement money received from those who turned themselves in to the Dutch Korean War Veterans Association. However, he did not disclose the specific amount of the settlement. Bart also added, "I did not settle because of the money. I really did not want this to happen and I am stressed."

Netizens who learned of this news expressed various reactions such as, "I am truly ashamed. Why do people graffiti others’ artworks?", "Even if it’s not artwork, you shouldn’t graffiti other people’s property," and "Donating to a veterans organization?cheers and applause for your decision."

Meanwhile, the Seongdong Police Station in Seoul is investigating a man in his 30s, Mr. A, and a woman in her 20s, Ms. B, on charges of property damage. They are accused of vandalizing Bart’s exhibit with graffiti around 2 a.m. on the 15th.

The two appeared at the police station together and turned themselves in at 10:30 p.m. on the 19th, four days after the incident. It is reported that during the police investigation, they stated that they did not know it was an artwork when they graffitied it.