Police probe nail hammering into pavilion in Andong

Mandaeru at Byeongsanseowon, a Confucian school in Angong, North Gyeongsang Province (Korea Heritage Service)
Mandaeru at Byeongsanseowon, a Confucian school in Angong, North Gyeongsang Province (Korea Heritage Service)

A KBS drama production team faces criticism as police look into unauthorized nail hammering that damaged a historic pavilion at a UNESCO-designated site.

The police complaint, filed last week by a private citizen, alleges that the crew violated the law by hammering nails into Mandaeru at Byeongsanseowon, a 17th-century Confucian school in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province.

In a public apology, KBS said it would cooperate with the probe and work to avoid damaging cultural heritage again. It added that the crew had only driven deeper into existing nail holes.

The holes, eight on Mandaeru and two on a separate adjacent structure, were made to hang traditional Korean lanterns for filming.

Nail damage on Mandaeru at Byeongsanseowon, a Confucian school in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province (Andong City)
Nail damage on Mandaeru at Byeongsanseowon, a Confucian school in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province (Andong City)

Officials at Andong City have said they would ask police to determine whether any laws were broken in a separate complaint. The city officials believe the crew had not followed through on a previous agreement to notify the city if there was a possibility the historic site might be damaged during filming.

The damage appeared light but could not be fully restored to what it had been, said Jung Yun-sang, a professor of architecture engineering at Andong National University.

Jung, a government-recognized fixer on cultural heritage, told The Korea Herald that filling up the holes in the wood is almost impossible because wood expands and contracts over time.

“The holes themselves don’t look that big and we could just leave them as is,” Jung said. “But it’s a shame that the historic site has to withstand the material damage.”

Authorities, Jung added, have to be more proactive in educating production crews about what they can and can’t do when filming, rather than warn them of punishment.

Byeongsanseowon was set up in 1605 to educate “seonbi,” or scholars during the Joseon era (1392-1910). The compound was named a historic site in 1978, with Mandaeru being recognized as a Treasure in 2020, all by the Korean government. In 2010, UNESCO recognized Byeongsanseowon, which the Korean government said is one of seven such places in the country.