Dear all,

 

I would like to add a comment concerning Koguryŏ tombs and related issues.

 

To Frank Hoffman, Junhi Han and Werner Koidl: It was great meeting you three at the Koguryŏ conference in Berlin in October 2006. Unfortunately, neither North Korean nor Chinese scholars came to attend. They did not say it openly, but while talking to them or top officials, respectively, I got the impression they feared personal consequences after their return back home. So Frank, I agree with you in so far as this whole thing is a highly political issue. In addition, the South Korean view of the Koguryŏ issue dominated at our conference due to the fact that the conference was mainly sponsored by the Korea Foundation (and by a lottery fund from the city of Berlin; the Koguryŏ Foundation gave us some books as presents for our library, but it was not our main sponsor).

 

But I don’t recall South Korean scholars leave the room when Professor Mazzeo talked.

When Prof. Rocco Mazzeo talked about preservation techniques of the tomb murals and the training of North Korean scientists, I rather got the impression that South Korean scholars were quite impressed seeing that UNESCO is playing an important role in the preservation of at least some of the tombs.

 

Junhi, I hope that UNESCO will further engage in the restoration of the tombs, and I wish you all the best with your work in North Korea as well as in China.

As we all know, many of the muraled tombs are in a devastating condition, and their restoration would be even more efficient if an organisation like the Getty Foundation (Mogao grottoes!) co-sponsored the restoration work.

If the restoration work is not undertaken with the assistance of Western scientists like Prof. Mazzeo, I fear there won’t be much material left to research on in the near future.  

 

All the best,

Maya Kerstin Stiller

 

 

Lecturer in Korean Art History

 

Freie Universitaet Berlin

Art History Institute, Division of East Asian Art

Koserstr. 20

14195 Berlin

Germany