Art foundation aims to make NFTs of historic Korean alphabet manuscript

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- An art foundation said Thursday it is pushing to create commercial digital tokens of "Hunminjeongeum," an official manuscript describing the principles of the Korean alphabet, Hangeul, and details on its letters and sounds. The Kansong Art and Culture Foundation, which owns the Haerye edition of the historic document, said it plans to digitalize the document into a limited edition of the non-fungible token (NFT) and sell it at 100 million won (US$86,800) each. Only 100 of them will be up for sale. "Hunminjeongeum Haerye" is a guidebook that explains why King Sejong invented Hangeul during his reign in the 15th century Joseon Dynasty, as well as other details on the Korean alphabet. It was designated as a national treasure in 1962 and a Memory of the World by UNESCO in 1997. If the project is successful, it will be the first version of the country's national treasure made into a collectible digital asset using blockchain technology and fetch 10 billion won for the foundation. However, the plan is expected to cause a debate on the commercial use of the national heritage that holds great symbolic value but belongs to a private art foundation. The state-run Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said it will examine the legitimacy of the project, as well as the potential effects it could have on the manuscript, including those from exposure to photography. Making a copy or taking pictures and videos of cultural assets require permission from the CHA by law due to the possible impact on their preservation. "We think of the NFT project as a new type of sponsorship, rather than hoping for an active commercial trade," the Kansong foundation said, adding it has made the decision due to financial difficulties. nyway@yna.co.kr (END)