The Creation of National Treasures and Monuments: The 1916 Japanese Laws on the Preservation of Korean Remains and Relics and Their Colonial Legacies

• Published in: Korean studies Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 72 - 95
• Main Author: Pai, Hyung Il
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Honolulu CENTER FOR KOREAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I 01.01.2001; University of Hawai'i Press; University of Hawaii Press
• Subjects: 20th century AD; Archaeological conservation; Archaeological excavation; Archaeology; Art preservation; Bureaucracy; Colonial government; Colonialism; Cultural heritage; Cultural institutions; Cultural preservation; Cultural property, Protection of; Cultural relations; Cultural tourism; Culture; Folk culture; Historic artifacts; Intangible property; International aspects; Japan; Japanese culture; Korean culture; Korean language; Legislation; Museums; National monuments; Nationalism; Political aspects; Preservation; Protection and preservation; Social aspects; South Korea; Tourism; Japan
• ISSN: 0145-840X; 1529-1529; 1529-1529
• DOI: 10.1353/ks.2001.0011

This article surveys the history of Korea's heritage management laws and administration beginning with the current divisions of the Office of Cultural Properties and tracing its structure back to the 1916 Japanese Preservations Laws governing Korean remains and relics. It focuses on the eighty-year-old bureaucratic process that has led to the creation of a distinct Korean patrimony, now codified and ranked in the nationally designated registry of cultural properties (Chijŏng munhwajae). Due to the long-standing perceived "authentic" status of this sanctified list of widely recognized "Korean" national treasures, they have been preserved, reconstructed, and exhibited as tangible symbols of Korean identity and antiquity since the early colonial era.