Designate Chokseokru as a National Treasure

By WI SUNG-WOOK
The author is the Busan bureau chief of the JoongAng Ilbo.

There is a must-visit site for foreign tourists visiting Japan, especially the historic city of Kyoto. It is Kinkaku-ji, or Golden Pavilion temple, a Unesco World Heritage Site.

When I heard the news of Yeongnamru in Miryang, South Gyeongsang, being redesignated as a national treasure, I was reminded of the ancient Buddhist temple in Japan and Chokseokru, a magnificent pavilion in Jinju, South Gyeongsang, which are seemingly unrelated. I looked at various documents, and there was a reason why the two structures came to my mind: They were both destroyed around the same time and rebuilt. But Kinkaku-ji is treated preciously as a “golden temple,” while Chokseokru, once a national treasure, is treated poorly.

Kinkaku-ji was built in 1397 and mostly lost to arson in 1950. Only its skeletal structure was left standing. The temple was restored after five years. But as the first round of restoration was rushed, the golden roof was left peeling off. Today’s Kinkaku-ji was created in 1999, 50 years after the fire, through two subsequent projects.

On the other hand, the Chokseokru — one of the most beautiful Joseon pavilions — was destroyed in a bombing during the 1950-53 Korean War. The site attracted national attention when it was restored in 1960, and Syngman Rhee, the first president of Korea, visited the site. However, after it was removed from the National Treasure list in 1956, its status was not restored.

There were civic campaigns to restore the pavilion’s national treasure status in 2004 and 2014, but they were not successful. The primary reasons were that little time had passed since the construction date and the reconstruction changed the original design.

But if you look at the efforts the Japanese have made to reconstruct Kinkaku-ji after the fire, another reason Chokseokru could not regain National Treasure status becomes clear.

Although the pavilion burned down completely and was not preserved in perfect condition, it is still a symbol of Korean architecture, having survived for nearly 1,000 years since its construction in 1241. In addition, the historic and symbolic significance of Chokseokru — well represented by the Battle of Jinju, Nongae and General Kim Si-min — are immortal values that cannot be lost in a fire. That alone is reason enough to elevate the pavilion to a national treasure.