How a museum director earned the President’s ire

Posted on : 2016-03-25 16:56 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Kim Young-na may have been fired for declining an art exhibition that Pres. Park insisted
Park’s pose is a satire of the Bangasayusang
Park’s pose is a satire of the Bangasayusang

Late last year, National Museum of Korea (NMK) director Kim Young-na was busy developing the 2016 exhibition schedule when she received a request to visit the office of Blue House Senior Secretary for Education and Culture Kim Sang-ryul.

She hurried to the Blue House, where Kim presented her with a document. It was a proposal to stage a feature exhibition at her museum on the history of French decorative art. Intended to honor the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France, it was to be spearheaded by the Comite Colbert, an association of French decorative art museums and luxury design brands. Its focus would be on showing South Korean audiences the history of French decorative arts from the Renaissance era all the way through modernity and into the 2000s, with a focus on luxury brands over the years. Costs related to the exhibition would be paid by the companies of the Comit? Colbert, which was acting as sponsor. Numerous sources with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) said the senior secretary’s office repeated stressed to Kim Young-na during the discussions that the exhibition was a “matter of Presidential interest.” (The office itself claimed President Park Geun-hye only showed an interest after the exhibition fell through.)

 one of Korea‘s most well-known Buddhist statues. This cartoons depicts the situation where Director Kim Young-na was dismissed as National Museum Director for declining an exhibition that Park was in favor of. (by Kwon Beom-cheol)
one of Korea‘s most well-known Buddhist statues. This cartoons depicts the situation where Director Kim Young-na was dismissed as National Museum Director for declining an exhibition that Park was in favor of. (by Kwon Beom-cheol)

One source’s account was particularly noteworthy.

“Last year, they were having a report by the Senior Secretary for Education and Culture on events this year to commemorate relations with France, and President Park apparently expressed a particular interest in taking time out to go see an exhibition on French decorative art,” the source said.

“The senior secretary’s office immediately went into emergency mode. They focused their attention on preparing and making sure the exhibition happened, and they called up the MCST, Kim Young-na, and officials with the museum‘s Education and Cultural Cooperation Bureau to urge them to do it,” the source added. “It ended up running into problems with the preparations because Kim unexpectedly opposed it.”

There wasn’t any major problem with the idea of showing the historical context of French decorative items, which are recognized as some of the most splendid in the world. Yet Kim was dead set against the exhibition. Her issue had to do with a section toward the end with a special showroom showcasing the expensive accessories, jewelry, and other items currently sold on the global market by luxuries brands like Cartier, Louis Vuitton, and Hermes. Kim feared that South Korea‘s leading public exhibition institution would end up hosting what amounted to a commercial promotion. Indeed, the National Museum of Contemporary Art previously came under fire after holding an exhibition on luxury Cartier items at its Deoksugung annex in 2008. Given that and the number of other cases where prominent museums around the world had often been chastised for fashion brand exhibitions, Kim’s opposition made some sense. Another difference was that while in France there is little public objection to fashion brand exhibitions even at large public museums, the South Korean public is somewhat sensitive about commercial exhibitions.

According to sources with the MCST and museum, Kim repeatedly said she was against having the exhibition at the NMK - at which point the Blue House began ratcheting up the pressure to what soon became an intolerable degree. She was repeatedly called back and forced into a battle of wills with the senior secretary‘s office over the exhibition.

“Why can’t you hold this exhibition? We can‘t just fail to hold an exhibition that the President is planning to attend,” sources reported her as being told. Her superior, first MCST vice minister Park Min-kwon, also joined in, pressing Kim to satisfy the president’s wishes by going ahead with the exhibition. According to sources, Kim found herself under so much stress that she was unable to perform her other duties.

In a telephone interview, Kim told the Hankyoreh that she had “gotten a lot of grief [from the Blue House] since late last year.”

“I couldn‘t understand the reason why the president had such an interest or why this exhibition had to be held,” she said.

In his own interview with the Hankyoreh on Mar. 24, Kim Sang-ryul explained that the French ambassador had “complained about communication issues with Kim Young-na and asked me to look into it because I had a personal relationship.”

“So I went to her one time and asked her to manage things so that events for the Korea-France Exchange Year wouldn’t run into problems because of the decorative art exhibition issue,” he continued.

“This has nothing whatsoever do with her replacement as NMK director. In fact, I only found out about the replacement after the announcement,” he added.

Kim also said President Park’s expression of interest in the exhibition “was more recent [than the end of 2015], after the exhibition had already fallen through.”

In mid-February, the French companies withdrew their support plans over Kim’s objections, and the exhibition plan was canceled. Shortly afterwards, Kim and Park Min-kwon were replaced in their positions. According to MCST sources, it was the result of the unpardonable crime of daring to allow the cancellation of an exhibition the president saw as important.

Also interesting to note is the evidence of other foreshadowing of Kim’s replacement besides the exhibition fiasco. MCST and museum sources said the more serious issue at play was the fact that the Blue House viewed the exhibition’s failure as evidence not simply of Kim’s own intentions, but as organized opposition by “anti-government public servants.” It’s an interpretation supported by accounts of disciplinary measures in the works for supervisory employees at the museum. As it happens, the head of the museum‘s education and cultural exchange team in charge of the exhibition was a bureau director surnamed No who was previously demoted after spearheading a Korea Equestrian Foundation investigation during a 2013 furor over the selection of the daughter of Chung Yoon-hoi - a close associate of the president’s - to the national equestrian team, a move that resulted in Park herself referring to him as a “bad person.” It’s a factor that has led to speculation that the Blue House’s anger may stem from suspicions about more “subversive” motives.

Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok had a different story on the reasons for the replacements of Kim Young-na and the first vice minister. Speaking to reporters last week, he said Kim’s replacement had to do with “frictions between the museum’s archeology and art history specialists.”

“For the latest appointment, she was replaced with someone [successor Lee Young-hoon] who is a specialist in cultural heritage from the field of archeology rather than art history,” Kim said.

Park Min-kwon‘s replacement, he added, was “intended to bolster communication with the South Korean public.”

By Noh Hyong-seok, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

button that move to original korean article (클릭시 원문으로 이동하는 버튼)

Related stories