Gucci, Chanel and other global luxury brands are increasingly turning their attention to Korea s cultural heritage, rich with tradition and history. They frame these initiatives as social contributions but are driven by strategic motivations.
An agency whose mission has long centered on protecting national heritage, the newly renamed Korea Heritage Service has a new mandate: to fashion heritage to modern tastes. Choi Eung-chon, the inaugural administrator of the agency, said renaming the 79-year-old Cultural Heritage Administration on May 17 reflected a change in the institution’s focus toward providing “services” that enable the public .
The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) plans to charge the perpetrators who last year defaced the walls of Seoul s Gyeongbok Palace with spray-painted graffiti, which resulted in 150 million won ($109,500) worth of restoration costs.