The tenure of Yoo Hong-june as director of the National Museum of Korea, which began with fanfare alongside the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, ended quietly with a 10-minute farewell ceremony. He closed out his 15-month term after issuing a sixth public apology over the controversy surrounding the self-vetting and exhibition of a personally owned work of calligraphy by a pro-Japanese collaborator.
"I am sorry that my personal mistake damaged the museum's reputation and that I am leaving under these circumstances," Yoo said at the farewell ceremony held on the 22nd at the auditorium of the National Museum of Korea in Seoul's Yongsan district. "Even after leaving the museum, I will do everything I can to support the various projects the museum has been pursuing."
Addressing the staff as "my beloved museum family," Yoo opened his remarks by saying, "The time has come to part." He said, "I can still picture the crowds of visitors packing the museum when I first reported for work as director on July 21 last year, on an unusually sweltering summer day." He added, "Drawing 50% more visitors than in previous years, we reached 6.5 million annual visitors and ranked third in the world — that remains a moment that fills my heart."
"This year as well, visitors have surpassed 6 million as of October 19, and we will record more than 7 million by year-end," Yoo said. "This is a clear indicator, not a temporary craze driven by the animated film 'KPop Demon Hunters.'" He continued, "Museums around the world envy us and ask what the secret is behind our museum's expansion and growth. It is the fruit of our museum family quietly doing their work in their own posts," crediting the staff.
Looking back on his 15 months in office, Yoo said he had been "a truly fortunate man to serve as director during the museum's golden age," but admitted, "On the other hand, it was a heavy burden, given the sense of duty to further develop this place as the heart of our history and culture and as a multipurpose cultural space showing the roots of K-culture." Repeating that he felt regret and remorse, he said, "My heart was in it, but I could not visit our regional museums as often as I wanted." He added, "I leave carrying the guilt of my own mistake, along with pride in and love for this museum."
Yoo again quoted a line from "Resurrection" by the Russian literary giant Leo Tolstoy. At a parliamentary audit on the 19th, he had said, "In 'Resurrection,' Tolstoy wrote that love and pride become memories with the passage of time, but mistakes and guilt remain in the present tense." Yoo said, "I leave the museum carrying both of the things Tolstoy spoke of," and bid farewell, adding, "I will visit often as a single visitor and as a supporter of the museum."
The museum said it called the event a "farewell ceremony" rather than a "retirement ceremony," reflecting its hope to meet him again in a better position in the future. Because the ceremony was held the day after he announced his resignation on the 21st and President Lee Jae-myung, who holds appointment authority, approved it that afternoon, no banner announcing the event could be hung.
The ceremony ended in about 10 minutes, closing with a museum official reciting poet Seo Jeong-ju's "Like the Wind That Has Met the Lotus and Gone," and its central figure left the museum alone.
Yoo is an art historian who made his name with the bestselling "My Exploration of Cultural Heritage" and served as head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, now the Korea Heritage Service, from 2004 to 2008 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. He remained active in progressive circles afterward, and during the 21st presidential election campaign in May last year he chaired the K-Culture Powerhouse Committee, a body under the direct control of the campaign committee of Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, emerging as a key cultural policy strategist for the Lee administration.
After the administration took office, he disclosed that he had turned down an offer to serve as minister of culture, sports and tourism. He was appointed in July last year to the vice-ministerial post of director of the National Museum of Korea, where he pursued a range of reforms and reorganizations.
Although the ceremony ended briefly, observers expect his influence to endure given his standing within the ruling party. As head of the K-Culture Powerhouse Committee, he had argued that "even if cultural industries take the lead, the arts must not be weakened."