For the Korean rebels, 2023 has been more than eventful. As the World Cup returned to Korea for the first time since 2018, the entire team worked hard to organize events, support players to give the country that gave life to eSports the World Cup it deserved. In November, Faker and T1 performed in front of thousands of Korean fans at the Gocheok Sky Dome. This is the first time that the best League of Legends player has won the world title in his home country. The event was the latest chapter in the already rich history of Korean esports, and it’s already shaping up to be one of the best.
Today, Korea has become inseparable from League of Legends and League eSports. But that was not always the case. In 2011, the year of the first LoL world, Korean League of Legends servers had just opened with Riot’s offices in Seoul.
“The opening of the League’s Korean server coincides with the release of Ehri, a champion tied to the Korean legend of the nine-tailed fox,” recalls Karen Koo, PR and Social Responsibility Project Lead at Riot Seoul. “At the opening of the Korean office, Riot not only released champions inspired by Korean culture, but also pledged to support the country in a meaningful way by dedicating time and resources to important causes. We know that Korean athletes need to have a real social impact. »
So a promise was made, but how the riot might affect it has yet to be defined. This is where Karen comes into play.
“When I joined Riot in early 2012, my first duty was to identify and organize social responsibility projects in line with Riot’s values,” explains Karen. “After a period of observation, I came to the conclusion that sports are closely linked to our culture. It then seems logical that we contribute to the protection of our cultural heritage, which is the basis of our culture. We had the opportunity to serve as a bridge between our cultural heritage and the younger generation, who are most of our players. So we can create a positive and accessible connection between Korean cultural heritage and Korean players.
Thus, in mid-2012, the Cultural Heritage Conservation Project (or 문트재지기이 project) was born. Less than ten years later, Riot received a presidential decoration for the project, a first in the country’s history for a foreign company and a clear sign that Karen and her team had achieved their goal. The project has continued and expanded to cover more functions, but its original mission is still at the heart of the concern: to return objects of strong cultural significance to their original Korea.
“In 2022, it is estimated that there will be more than 230,000 Korean cultural objects scattered across 27 countries,” explains Yong Ki Jang, deputy director of the Korea Cultural Heritage Administration. “Some of these artefacts reached overseas through legal means such as gift, purchase or auction. But there are also cases where these cultural relics were sent illegally, during war, through theft, looting or even smuggling. Cultural heritage is a key historical witness, providing a window into the philosophy, technology, leisure activities and lifestyle of the community that created these artefacts. »
The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) is a branch of the Korean government that acts as the administrative body responsible for overseeing Korea’s natural heritage. Since 2012, Karen and Ryot have worked directly with CHA and actively participated in the protection of Korean cultural heritage. To end 2023, the Korean team and CHA pledged to continue their mission and announced priorities for the coming year.
Bringing cultural artifacts home
These artifacts don’t come up for sale every day. Despite their large numbers, opportunities to buy them back and bring them back to Korea are rare.
“In order to return cultural artifacts to their rightful place, business and government need to coordinate their efforts,” says Karen. “It happens that many factors such as lack of target, lack of opportunity and required amount of money deter companies from investing in this sector. To counter this, we recognized this unpredictable nature and allocated a significant amount of donation funds. When an opportunity arises, we immediately reach out to our partners and seek support. Thus, we succeeded in making six such initiatives. »
Among the items that found their way to Korea were a painting of the Korean Shakyamuni Triad, a bamboo book for the coronation of Queen Sinjong, and the royal seal of Jungwagung Palace.
“The last item we brought back to Korea was the ‘Borok (보록)’, a royal treasure chest from the Joseon era,” Jung said. “Iobo (어보), the ceremonial seal of Borok, contains engravings describing the achievements and evaluations of the king, queen, prince, princess and others. Eobo is stored in two separate boxes, Botong (inner box) and Borok (outer box). Iobo and Borok are used by the royal family during special events and have strong cultural value. They represent the legitimacy of royal lineage, history and quality of craftsmanship. »
