[Opinion] Living National Treasures

Hollywood stars Russell Crowe (40) and Nicole Kidman (37) who each received an Oscar for best performances in the lead actor/actress role in “Gladiator” and “The Hours,” have recently been selected as Australia’s national treasures. Kidman, who was born in Hawaii and raised in Australia, and Crowe, born in New Zealand, both have Australian citizenship. The 15 new Living National Treasures announced by the Living National Treasures Committee, which included Kidman and Crowe, will replace treasures who passed away since the first 100 treasures were announced in 1997. The new list also includes a tennis star, a track and field athlete, and a doctor who treated victims of the explosion in Bali.

-It’s not that Korea does not have living national treasures.

Selected by the Cultural Properties Administration as important intangible cultural treasures of being worthy of preservation, they are titled “human cultural assets.” The 215 people currently belong to 109 categories including the fields of dance, theatre, music, military arts, food, and industrial arts. However, 170 of these human cultural assets, 79 percent of the total, are over the age of 60. With a sponsorship of a meager one million won per month from the Cultural Properties Administration, they are in fact treated like traditional technicians at best.

-Could it be because of dissatisfaction against this atmosphere?

Sir Moo-ae Yang Joo-dong (1903-1977) who ruled an era with his flash of talent and ingeniousness, and who was well informed and retentive in memory constituted himself as a living national treasure. There was, of course, a pros and cons debate on Sir Yang’s self-laudation. However, his “Research on Old Songs of Chosun” and “Commentary on Koryo Songs” are highly regarded achievements inarguable by anyone. It is rumored that Sir Yang once told a taxi driver, “Be especially careful driving because a national treasure is on board,” and rebuked a police officer who was regulating his public urination by saying “don’t you recognize a national treasure?” He even insisted that he should receive a free newspaper subscription by claiming, “just the fact that a national treasure is reading your newspaper should be considered an honor.”

-With a 5,000-year history, Korea has numerous tangible national cultural assets.

However, far from being treated as a ‘national treasure’, it is difficult to find them even being treated as ‘respected elders’ due to our society’s stingy evaluation and treatment of people. Simply bringing up the names of Admiral Lee Sun-shin and Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan is the reality. The reason as to why Korea does not have living national treasures is not because of a lack of people who deserve the appointment, but because, perhaps, of our social atmosphere of criticizing people.

Editorial Writer Oh Myung-chul oscar@donga.com