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In May 2023, CHRF traveled to Central Europe (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic) for 4 purposes:
conduct field investigation into the presence of Korean cultural heritage in those countries
connect and network with local personnel and Korean diaspora
promote the upcoming international creativity contest for youth regarding cultural heritage (https://chrfkorea.wixsite.com/chrfdebate)
prepare for the upcoming 2024 Dancheong exhibition (https://chrfkorea.wixsite.com/dancheong2024)
For over 20 days, the CHRF team visited over 6 institutions and met up with the relevant personnel to conduct field investigation regarding Korean cultural heritage. Thanks to CHRF's local branches and networks, and to the warm response of our colleagues in Europe, we found that the amount of Korean cultural heritage currently present in those countries far surpassed previously known information.
For example, according to the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, Poland was known to have 44 Korean items across 2 institutions. In reality, our investigation discovered more than 700 items across 6 institutions. Czech Republic was known to have 7 items in 1 institution, whereas our research showed that the same institution actually held over 700 items as well.
Our investigation garnered a lot of interest in Korea, in our foundation's members and researchers, as well as the general public. The Korean government also responded to our findings and released a statement.
The trip not only proved successful with the investigative findings, but also in networking with locals and overseas Koreans. With the visited institutions, further research into specific artifacts and collaborations on upcoming exhibitions were discussed and agreed upon. In addition, CHRF established 5 new branches in Europe, starting with Budapest/Hungary and Prague/Czech Republic.
Upon return, the CHRF hosted a seminar with the National Assembly Cultural Heritage Restoration Forum, and discussed the real-time situation of Korean cultural heritage overseas (the US, Europe, Japan), the need for more field research and collaboration, and options for their proper maintenance and usage once returned.
For more information on the trip's findings, please refer to the following articles:
(KOR) KBS WORLD KOREAN - Radio interview - our researcher discusses the findings and results of the trip, as well as their implications, while sharing her journey of growing up abroad and discovering her identity as a 'Korean'
(KOR) Maeil Econ - news article - our branch in Poland shares the findings and results of the trip, as well as the story of how their branch came to be and start the work in cultural heritage
(KOR) Joongdo Ilbo - news article - an article summarizing the seminar hosted post-trip, along with their results
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