Revision of law on official records questioned

King Chongjong, the second monarch of the Choson Kingdom (1392-1910), was reading a book for a lecture when he heard the noisy sound of ¡°kyokku,¡± a sort of Western polo played by court historians and eunuchs. He asked a historian carefully, ¡°Do you record even kyokku playing in the history books?¡± The historian answered, ¡°Yes, naturally, your Majesty.¡± The king, without responding, devoted himself to reading.

This episode shows the excellent tradition of documentary culture of our ancestors, who produced the Choson Dynasty Chronicles.

Recording also is important also today. In particular, even if a regime is changed, its record of ruling should be left. But it¡¯s not the case here. In the whirlpool of the confusion in the 20th century, the tradition of the superior documentary culture is missing.

The government enacted the Documentary Management Law last year. The law, which makes it compulsory for public agencies to manage documents, attracted concern in that it might contribute to helping revive this tradition.

The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs is revising the enforcement decree of the law. But the academic circle has detected some suspicious moves in the process of the ministry¡¯s work.

One move is that the ministry eased the regulations for recording minutes of official meetings by allowing recording of summarized remarks instead of the current full contents of remarks in policy-making meetings.

The academic circle argues that such minutes lacking the full remarks but only carrying summaries are of no use because it is impossible to know of the accurate contents of the remarks. A scholar raised his voice, saying that the government intends to avoid responsibility for possible irregularities.

The government also plans to ease the qualifications for the experts to manage documents, who are required hold a master¡¯s degree in the science of documentation under the current regulations, by allowing government officials to do the job, if they complete necessary courses.

The Research Institute of Korean Archives and Records, which was launched as a professional research organ with the legislation, came up with a reaction that such a claim by the academic circle is absurd. It said in a protest that those who are attending a training course are all master¡¯s degree holders. It argued, who will apply for the job, if the qualifications are eased? Its claim means that the projected revision of the ordinance is not designed to provide jobs for the officials who retire.

In a sense, to record and reflect the things of the past is the basis of all cultural behaviors. Either learning or culture progress little by little while undergoing this kind of procedure. The recording culture is a small job, but is never a trifle issue.