"Let's free Seokguram from the specter of the nation, people and people".

 <Reporter's Notebook> There is a nationalistic ghost (Seoul=Yonhap News) Kim Tae-sik = a huge ghost surrounding Seokguram. This is the specter of nationalism in which nationalism and nationalism are united. Koreans start and end the day with Seokguram Hermitage. The TV, which marks the beginning and end of the day, plays the solemn national anthem and does not leave Seokguram out as the background. No one doubts that Seokguram Hermitage is one of the great cultural heritages. However, these questions should be asked here. Now it is time to look back on who made Seokguram the "greatest cultural heritage of the Korean people for half a thousand years" and what they did so for. Why is this ruminating process necessary? A series of debates over Seokguram Hermitage, such as the controversy over how many guardian statues of the current Seokguram Hermitage were originally restored, are closely related to nationalism. In addition, the construction of the Seokguram Model Exhibition Hall has recently been raised. Gyeongju City and Bulguksa Temple decided to set up a model exhibition hall for Seokguram Hermitage, and some are moving against it for reasons such as environmental destruction. The Cultural Heritage Administration, which is in a dilemma, seems to be in a dilemma. Despite passing the Cultural Heritage Committee and allocating the national budget, the project itself is being reviewed. In short, at the bottom of these various debates and controversies over Seokguram Hermitage, there is always criticism that "can the greatest heritage of the Korean people be neglected or destroyed like this?" The two equations for Seokguram derived from almost all writings written by Buddhist art historians, including Korean history textbooks and Korean history theology, are "Silla's Protective and Royal Temple." It is a phrase selected from an article written by a very famous Buddhist historian in Korea. King Munmu, who achieved the unification of the three kingdoms and had a strong anti-Japanese spirit, cursed the Japanese who always plundered peaceful Silla and said, "If I die, I will become a guardian dragon of the East Sea and defeat the Japanese enemy. He was a great man like the embodiment of patriotism who died, leaving a will to bury my bones in the East Sea. In support of King Munmu's extreme will, the Silla people built large temples such as Gamunsa Temple and Seokbulsa Temple (=Seokguram) around the tomb of King Munmu and used the power of King Munmu and the power of Buddhism to defeat Japanese invaders who always infiltrated the sea. Now Seokguram Hermitage was a national temple with the wishes of the Silla people, so the sincerity of Silla artists in this temple and statue sculpture was such a desperate prayer. "What is the anti-Japanese spirit in the Silla period 1,300 years ago, and what is the prince's patriotism?" Also, what is based on the word "national temple" where Seokguram Hermitage is permeated with the wishes of the Silla people? It is not only this late Buddhist historian who evaluates Seokguram in this way. In any case, we can see at once that Seokguram Hermitage, which they are trying to say, is not actually Seokguram Hermitage of the Silla Dynasty, and it is not a temple of one individual named Kim Dae-seong. Seokguram Hermitage, which they refer to, is only a symbol of national nationalism that was born in modern times. In short, Seokguram was only a shell, and academia created the ideology of the modern national state of the nation, people, and people through the ring of Seokguram. In this respect, it should be remembered that the most decisive time when Seokguram Hermitage was established as the greatest cultural heritage of the Korean people and a Buddhist relic representing the spirit of protecting Silla was during the Park Chung-hee Yushin regime. At this time, the slogan "Let's achieve national unity by imitating Hwarang's spirit of patriotic martyrs to revive national identity and achieve modernization of our country" wrapped around Korean society like a fever. Not only during the Park Chung-hee era, but also during the dictatorship before and after that, individuals, human rights, and freedom were suffocated by the slogan "all, national interests, and obligations." This totalitarian ideology not only wiped out individuals, human rights, and freedom, but also weighed down cultural heritages such as Seokguram. Seokguram Hermitage is a national defense.There is no evidence that it is a royal temple. Seokguram Hermitage was a personal temple of Kim Dae-sung and has nothing to do with patriotism. We also have no way of knowing what the original shape of Seokguram Rock was like. It is only a comedy to argue that the original form of Seokguram was like this based on the fact that it was only taken in the early 20th century or found some pictures or drawings. Seokguram Hermitage was first built 1,300 years ago. It is not enough to say that it is different or different from the original without discussing which point in this long history to use as the original form of Seokguram. Seokguram Rock, which appeared in pictures or drawings of the early 20th century, is only Seokguram Rock of the early 20th century, and it is a delusion if you think it is the prototype of Seokguram Rock of the Silla Dynasty. The absolute principle of preserving cultural heritage is to prevent more destruction and destruction than it is now, not to forcefully create and sew an immaterial prototype. Moreover, forcing out an ideology that does not exist is also of no use to its cultural heritage. It is time to free Seokguram from the specter of the nation, people, and people. taeshik@yna.co.kr