Dr. Soomuk Chin Hong-sup: On His Scholarship and Academic Achievement in Korean Art History

Abstract

The Art History Association of Korea was established with the five scholars in the Coterie of Antiquarians, which had been founded in 1960. The year of 2018 marks the centennial of the birth of two of the five scholars, Chin Hong-sup and Hwang Su-young. To celebrate the centennial anniversary, the Art History Association of Korea organized a conference, which has a special meaning in the field of Korean art history. Both of the two scholars were born in Gaeseong in the same year, and studied business administration in Japan. The reason why they became scholars in art history, which was unrelated to their major, was because of the director of the Gaeseong Museum, Uhyeon Ko Yu-seop’s influence on them. The two scholars devoted their entire life to the study of Korean art history to establish the foundation of scholarship in the field and founded the Art History Association of Korea.Of the two scholars, Soomuk Chin Hong-sup succeeded Uhyeon Ko Yu-seop as the director of the Gaeseong Museum. After the Korean War, Chin was appointed the director of the Gyeongju Museum and then the chief official in the Office of Culture Properties. Shortly after the appointment he was hired as a professor at the Ewha Womans University, with which he held the position of the director of the Ewha Womans University Museum concurrently for twenty years.During his term in office at the Gyeongju Museum, Chin established the Gyeongju Children’s Museum School, which has served thousands of children thus far. At the Ewha Womans University, he trained numerous students in art history, who are now playing important roles in various fields. His students in the group called Yeoyeohoe, whose name was given by Chin, donate books to the Gyeongju Children’s Museum School every year, and a library with a collection of Chin's books, named “Soomuk mungo,” has been run by the Gyeongju Museum. These activities embody his teachings and exert positive influence throughout the country. In 1899 when the Hosudon Girls' High School in Gaeseong was about to be closed down, he willingly donated a large fortune to continue the school, demonstrating his exceptional virtue. To prevent the construction of KTX, which would pass through Gyeongju, he published his article titled “Gyeongju is a Critical Patient.” in conference at the Seoul Civic Center he became the victim of egging. Nonetheless, he kept his seat until the end of the conference, showing his strong affection for cultural heritages.Chin made outstanding academic achievement as illustrated in his publications encompassing 25 books, 147 articles, 6 reports, and 6 catalogues. Of these publications the ninth volume of the Compilation of Primary Sources in Korean Art History provides textual sources for art history research, and represents his persistent scholarly endeavor. Although digitized materials are being extensively utilized in the field, the materials collected in this book will be invaluable for centuries. Furthermore, the Chronology of Korean Art History has been useful for both specialists and non-specialists in Korean art history, having been revised by the author several times. Up until he passed away in November of 2010, Chin had kept revising and supplementing the publication, demonstrating his enormous enthusiasm about art history that cannot be surpassed by any of his students.He did not seek fame and profit throughout his entire life, as illustrated in the fact that he declined the post of the director of the National Museum of Korea. Showing his strong will and sense of justice, he always took initiative without hesitation in stopping damages on cultural heritages. He also assumed the leadership, whenever the Art History Association of Korea was faced with a crisis, as he cherished the association. Because of these characteristics, Soomuk Chin Hongsup well deserves the admiration as “a man of noble character standing aloof from fame and profit.”