Unrecovered Items Including "Miam Diary"
"Systematic Management Is Urgently Needed"
Over the past five years since 2020, there have been 38 cases of national heritage theft, 31 cases of damage, and 652 cases of disaster-related damage reported. A total of 15.4 billion won was spent on restoration efforts.
On October 1, Assemblyman Park Suhyeon of the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee announced, after reviewing data from the National Heritage Administration, that 260 million won was spent on restoration of damaged heritage, while 15.2 billion won was used for recovery from disaster-related damage during this period.
Of the 38 stolen items, 18 have been recovered, but more than half-20 items-remain missing. Among them are materials of significant historical value, such as the “Miam Diary of Yu Huichun,” which is the most extensive personal diary from the Joseon Dynasty and served as a primary source for the “Annals of King Seonjo,” as well as the “Miamjip Woodblocks” and the “Choi Jinsa Old House Door from Murung-ri, Geochang,” which illustrates the scale of a noble family residence in the late Joseon period.
The main issue is the burden-sharing structure for restoration costs. In cases of damage, if the perpetrator is identified, the cost can be claimed from them; however, if the responsible party is unknown or the cause is unclear, restoration must be funded by the national or local government budgets.
Assemblyman Park emphasized, “While K-culture is expanding globally, our heritage is disappearing at home due to theft, damage, and disasters. Systematic management and urgent efforts to recover stolen heritage are needed.”
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