Why art historian running world's third-busiest museum keeps apologizing

You Hong-june, the 77-year-old art historian whose bestselling "My Exploration of Cultural Heritage" series made him a household name, bowed before lawmakers on Monday in his capacity as director of the National Museum of Korea. It was his third apology since August over a calligraphy scroll the museum had displayed as the work of an independence activist.

You, along with the National Museum of Korea — the world’s third-busiest museum — came under fire after it emerged that a calligraphy scroll displayed as the work of an independence activist had actually been written by a pro-Japanese collaborator and came from his private collection.

"The deep trust the public placed in the National Museum of Korea, and the value built through the efforts of its staff, collapsed in an instant because of my grave carelessness," You said Monday.

You was speaking at the National Assembly's annual audit conducted by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, before giving the museum's work report. He stepped out from behind the podium and bowed.

You next apologized to the public, to the families of independence fighters and to his staff.

Because of "insufficiently rigorous verification," he said, a pro-Japanese collaborator's calligraphy had been shown as a patriot's work, deeply wounding "the honor of the independence movement and the hearts of the bereaved families." He also told museum employees he was "truly sorry" that controversy stemming from his personal collection had exposed them to public criticism.

The addition in Monday's apology was what he had left out before. "When we withdrew the piece and announced the verification results, I offered a public apology, but at the time I did not openly disclose that it was from my personal collection," You said, calling it "a grave error and oversight on my part."

The scroll reads "Ilbansigukeun," meaning "Even a single bowl of rice is a gift from the nation," attributed to the Ven. Yeonggyu, a monk-soldier leader during the 1592 Japanese invasion. It was shown in "The Korean Table: Food, Nature and Life," a special exhibition on Korean food culture that runs from July 1 to Oct. 25. The scroll was labeled as a posthumous work of independence activist Park Won-geun, who lived from 1912 to 1950.

After an outside tip suggested the name on the seal might be an alias of someone else, the museum took the scroll down on Aug. 10. On Aug. 12, it apologized for inadequate verification.

A panel of seven experts in calligraphy, modern history, classical documents and conservation science reviewed the piece. On Sept. 7, the museum concluded it was the work of Park Jung-yang (1874-1959). Park was a high-ranking official under Japanese colonial rule and is listed as a collaborator in a 2009 government fact-finding report.

The controversy grew once it emerged that the scroll belonged to You and had gone into the exhibition on his recommendation. He reportedly bought it at a 2019 auction for 50,000 won ($38). Critics asked whether being displayed by the national museum could raise the value of a private holding.

You said last week that the scroll was among several pieces he intended to donate to Buyeo County, South Chungcheong Province, for a planned county-run museum. Under a 2016 agreement with the county, he has donated 865 items, including ceramics, paintings and calligraphy, valued at a combined 2.7 billion won as of 2024.

Pressed by Rep. Choi Min-hee of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea as to why he had stayed silent, You said he "hesitated to publicly admit" that as an art historian he had made a serious mistake. He had not identified himself as the owner when he lent the scroll to the exhibition, he added, because he did not want to appear boastful.

You built his reputation as a bestselling author who drew public attention to Korea's cultural heritage through travel writing. His 20-volume "My Exploration of Cultural Heritage" series has sold more than 5 million copies since the first volume was published in 1993.

Other questions have followed you, too.

On Sunday, a Daegu-based newspaper reported that You published a book on painter Jeong Seon (1676-1759) and held a signing shortly before the museum's Jeong Seon exhibition, held from Feb. 26 to April 26. The museum rejected the suggestion in a press release on Sunday that the show had been used to promote his book. It said the exhibition marked the 350th anniversary of Jeong Seon's birth and followed its own schedule. The museum also said the signing area was set up at to manage crowds, not to promote the director's book.

The controversy comes little more than a year into You's tenure, which began in July 2025, and as the museum enjoys record popularity.

You told lawmakers Monday that the museum drew more than 6.5 million visitors last year, ranking third worldwide after the Louvre in Paris and the Vatican Museums. As of Sept. 30, it had welcomed 5.72 million visitors this year, up 20.8 percent from a year earlier, and it expects to surpass 7 million.

You said the growth was "not a fleeting bump" from the Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters," but a sign the museum had become part of people's everyday lives.