HARNESSING THE WIND FOR THE WORLD

Courtesy Cho Byong Ook

Jeju Island, a traditional Korean honeymoon spot and site of the future Kite Museum of Korea.

The vision for the Kite Museum of Korea came from Sang-Ho Park of South Korea, a professional who has successfully worked to help Korean corporations meet their environmental regulations. He found the time to pursue an interest in the wind, which lead him to the door of the Drachen Fo u n d a t i o n , a n d t h u s b e g a n t h e conversations for transition of our kite collection to South Korea.

Join us for an interview of Mr. Park by Mr. Cho Byong Ook.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF.

I was born in 1961. I finished university by 1986. After university I started BSENTEC, (www.bsentec.co.kr), a company that produces environmental purification and testing equipment to monitor pollution rates. Our company has been successful in h e l p i n g o u r c l i e n t s t o b e g o o d environmental stewards and not add to the pollution of the world. We have won many a w a r d s f r o m t h e S o u t h K o r e a n Environmental Ministry as well as a citation from the President of Korea last year.

WHEN DID YOUR INTEREST IN THE WIND AND KITES BEGIN? DOES YOUR INTEREST IN KITES HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR OWN COUNTRY’S HERITAGE OF KITING?

I had been interested in preserving our traditional cultures while I was in college, as I began to note a trend in the decline of interest in cultural subjects. Flying kites used to be a popular activity for many. We used to fly kites during the winter months, November to early March. Kite flying coincided with our Lunar New Year’s holidays and specifically January 15th on the Lunar calendar.

On January 15th, Koreans have a ceremony

to ask for a plentiful harvest and to chase away evil or bad fortunes for the coming year. It consists of burning dal-zip, pine tree branches. “Dal” refers to the moon and “zip” a house, symbolic of “cleaning house.” The moon is traditionally related to a woman and this symbol is found in many, many Asian cultures, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. We also fly kites at this time.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE KITE STORY OR EXPERIENCE?

Like most individuals, it is a personal experience! My grandfather used to make a kite and fly it with me whenever I visited him: ban-pae yeon [rectangle shape] and o- zing-uh yeon [squid shape]. “Yeon” means a kite. “Ban-pae” refers to a shield. “O-zing- uh” is a squid.

[Editor’s Note: In Korea, the prevalent traditional kite, ban-pae yeon, is the rectangular-shaped kite with the hole in the center that we in the West call a “signal kite.” Normally flown as a fighting kite, dexterity with the Korean kite reel governs the success of kite fighters.]

WHEN DID YOU START TO PURSUE THE CONCEPTION OF CREATING A PLACE FOR THE WORLD TO COME TO LEARN MORE AND EXPERIENCE THE WIND AND KITES? WHY DID YOU PICK THE LOCATION OF JEJU, A SMALL ISLAND OFF THE SOUTHERN COAST OF SOUTH KOREA?

I started to look for the perfect place for a kite museum about ten years ago to fulfill my dream. I wanted a location where most Koreans visit at least a few times in their lives. That place was Jeju, the small island south of mainland Korea. The island is a place where the natural environment is being preserved and a place shown to be an e x a m p l e o f g o o d e n v i r o n m e n t a l stewardship. It was designated as a place of

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Courtesy Cho Byong Ook

LEFT: Sang-Ho Park, visionary of the Kite Museum of Korea. RIGHT: Cho Byong Ook and Scott Skinner together in Korea.

Courtesy www.windnkite.co.kr

An artist rendering of the future Kite Museum of Korea, where the Drachen Foundation collection will soon live.

international natural and cultural heritage by UNESCO in the mid-2000s. This has become a popular resort location, where many come to visit, from honeymooners to students on school trips. This is also a place where foreigners come, a favorite place especially for Japanese and Chinese travelers and where many conventions are now being booked. I knew this would be the best of all locations, where kiters from all over the world could come visit and fly their kites.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE CONCEPT OF THE KITE MUSEUM AND WIND CENTER?

The concept is simple: a place that could be built to bring all international kite cultures together for preservation, exhibition, and recreation. We will begin with the Kite Museum, and then develop other related programs and buildings to facilitate our vision from kites to wind-related science and activities. We will break ground in June of 2015. The first phase of our plan is to establish a state-of-the-art sound archival storage center for our collection, as well as ample exhibition space to tell the story of our international kiting heritage. Curation of the exhibits will come from a panel of qualified international kite experts as well as from the museum staff.

IS THE FUNDING OF THE KITE MUSEUM PRIVATE OR PUBLIC? BOTH?

Like the Drachen Foundation, we are a private corporation. Like the Drachen Foundation, I would like to open it up to everyone in the world who is willing to preserve the international kite culture, using the museum as the “structure” to protect it. It is good that there are many of us doing this, that we are a part of a collaboration of many facilities that have committed to this vision. I am happy to join the various collections of the world in preserving kite

cultures. [Editor’s note: Mr Park and his organization will work with the Korean government to help make this project happen. Our understanding of these types of projects in Korea is that they are far less cumbersome and red-tape-laden than like projects elsewhere.]

DO YOU HOPE TO ENGAGE THE WORLD IN THIS PROJECT?

Yes, I am working out innovative ways for people to invest and participate in the Kite Museum of Korea. There is an international team of experienced kitefliers who comprise the organization’s advisory board; among them, Andrea Aagren, Baew and Ron Spaulding, Peter Lynn, Ali Fujino, and Scott Skinner.

HOW ENGAGED DO YOU THINK YOUR OWN CITIZENS WILL BE IN SUCH A WONDERFUL PROJECT?

I am hopeful and excited as I establish this Kite Museum that both Korean and international citizens will join us and support these projects, as it is the work of us all to preserve the universal cultural heritage of kites and kite flying. Acquisition of the Drachen Foundation collection and preserving it for future generations of kitefliers and enthusiasts gives our organization a jump-start as we continue to acquire interesting artifacts and knowledge of the world’s kite flying traditions. The Kite Museum of Korea will use this foundation to build its own collection as the museum opens its doors to visitors from every corner of the world. ◆