Chapter 189: Artifact from North Korea (1)

Normally, when someone decide to sell an antique, they usually think of two ways.

The first is to entrust it to an auction agency, and the other is to find a middle merchant in Insadong to sell it directly to someone who knows how to appreciate antiques.

These two ways each has its pros and cons.

The advantage of the first way was that you can sell it at the highest price as multiple people compete for it.

However, the auction agency takes most of that money as the fee. No matter how much it was sold at, the seller might find the fee expensive.

Additionally, there is another disadvantage: the source of your money might be revealed. As money earned through auctions cannot be hidden, there can be family disputes and tax problems. So, not many people are fond of this option.

Selling through Insadong might not have the disadvantages of an auction agency, but the price differs greatly depending on which buyer you get to meet.

In short, you must exactly know what you are selling and at how much things like that are being sold, or you will get ripped off.

But now, someone had chosen the third option which was hard for ordinary people to think of: selling it directly to a museum. Haejin wondered who and what it was.

Even experts rarely came to museums to sell antiques.

“How did that person find out about us? It’s not like you put an ad on a newspaper that says you will buy antiques at the highest price,” Haejin said.

Eunhae replied, “I’m not a used car dealer. Of course, I never said anything like that. Do you remember the girl we helped a while ago?”

“Huh? Who? Oh, are you talking about Saebom?” Haejin asked.

“Yes. She posted on SNS about us. Even reporters read it and came here. That reporter from Weekly Stars must have gone to the airport because of that comedy show you filmed and Saebom’s SNS,” Eunhae answered.

“So… that person, who has come to sell an antique, came to us because of Saebom’s antique? Does he know we bought her painting?”

“I’m not sure about anything for now. I just told him to come back later as you were on a business trip. But he has been coming every day after that, three days in a row. It looks like he will keep coming until he gets to meet you,” Eunhae replied.

“Really? Have you seen what his antique is?” Haejin curiously asked.

“No, he said he would show it to us after you arrive, and not before. I wasn’t that curious about it, so I said okay.”

“Now I’m really curious.”

Haejin had planned to proudly brag about bringing king Jeongjo’s painting… but it looked like he had to wait until they arrived at the museum.

“Oh… he’s even better-looking in real life?”

“He’s single, right?”

“Excuse me… could you take a selfie with me?”

However, when they arrived at the museum, Haejin was so shocked that he forgot all about the painting.

How did that comedy show portray him? The visitors were acting as if they were seeing a real star…

Eunhae poked him, “This won’t last long, just get along with it.”

“Um, okay.”

Haejin took photos with them, wearing an artificial smile. Then, he escaped the crowd and went up to Eunhae’s office.

“What on earth did that program say about me?”

Eunhae replied, “Well, there has been Saebom’s SNS, and the comedy show portrayed you as a very handsome celebrity… and that interview you gave about Maeokdang’s scheme has made you look like a sharp and smart man. Don’t worry about it too much. Even though they are so enthusiastic about you, they will soon find another interesting issue.”

“I really hope you’re right…”

“It’s not like you are going to be on TV often, so it will be fine,” Eunhae comforted him.

Then, a member of the staff knocked on the door and came in.

“Mr. Choi Usik is here. He knows Mr. Park is here, and he said he will keep waiting.”

Eunhae looked at Haejin, so he replied, “Please take him to my appraisal room, I’ll come down.”

“Okay then, I will tell him to come back with the artifact,” the staff replied.

“Okay.”

After he left, Eunhae spotted a painting container next to Haejin and asked, “What is that?”

“Oh, this? I found a painting of Jeongjo when I was looking for good artifacts at Harvard’s museum.”

“That is Jeongjo’s painting? Was that why you asked me to ask the president to make another deal?” Eunhae asked.

Haejin had told her he had found a painting from the Joseon period, but he hadn’t told her what exactly it was.

So, he wanted her to ask Lionel if he was interested in exchanging a ten-million-dollar artifact with a painting.

“Yes. Anyway, it went well, so I brought it. It’s not like it is a stolen good, so you can exhibit it,” Haejin replied.

Eunhae clapped like a child in delight.

“Yaay! Jeongjo is the second king I admire the most, right after King Saejong. I never thought I would get to see his painting so closely. I must call the photographer immediately and let the PR team know. You know our museum has been having a special exhibition every week, right?”

Haejin then said, “Of course, you’re putting on a different banner at the entrance every week.”

“Haha… you brought Jeongjo’s painting, you are so great.”

Eunhae gave Haejin a thumbs-up. He then smiled and went to his appraisal room, letting her take care of the painting.

After about half an hour, the staff came with that strange client.

“Sir, this is Mr. Choi Usik.”

The man was clearly nervous. He had grey hair, brown skin, and a wrinkled face. He was at least 50 years old.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Choi Usik. You are Mr. Park Haejin. You look much younger than on TV.”

Haejin took his hand for a handshake.

“I arrived at Incheon this morning and the director told me about you. Nice to meet you.”

Usik’s hand was thick and rough as if he had been living a hard life. Haejin felt like he was holding his father’s hand again.

Usik didn’t feel like a stranger to him.

“You were a little puzzled, weren’t you? When you heard I wanted to sell an antique…”

He smelled like dirt, just like Haejin’s father and Byeongguk.

Haejin then replied, “Well, an individual coming to a museum to sell something is…”

“Let’s sit down and talk.”

Usik brought a chair and sat on it, and Haejin, similarly, sat down on a chair near the table while listening to Usik.

“Actually, I’m a grave robber.”

Haejin’s guts had never been wrong ever since he got his magic.

There were only a few Korean grave robbers Haejin didn’t know. As his father had been the best grave robber in the country, he had met so many others since he was a little boy. Now, he knew almost all the grave robbers in Korea.

“Grave robber…”

“Oh… you know what I mean. I steal antiques from graves and sell them,” Usik explained.

“Your accent is rough. You are not from this country, are you?” Haejin asked.

Usik then confirmed, “Yes. I was born in Hangyeongdo, North Korea, and I lived in South Korea and Qinghezhen, China for decades. I did a lot of bad things. At the time, I was just trying to make a living, but it can’t be an excuse.”

He reached to his pocket for a cigarette, but then he realized he couldn’t smoke in a museum and put it back again.

“Oh… it’s not like making excuses will make my sins disappear. That’s how I am. I have sinned a lot, but… my granddaughter just came along. She is so perfect and beautiful. When I looked at her, I suddenly started to fear. What if karma punishes her instead for my sins?”

Sometimes it happened. Some grave robbers worried too much about ghosts coming after them for revenge and ended up going mad.

As their work was to dig graves, they often got to see corrupted corpses.

Having nightmares was almost part of their job.

“Is that why you have come to sell that antique from North Korea?” Haejin asked.

“Yes, but I am not a criminal like Lee Wanyong* who sold over hundreds of North Korean artifacts. Most artifacts in North Korea are fakes, just like the artifacts here are mostly fakes.”

“I’ve heard of it, that there are many fake porcelains in North Korea, too.”

Usik confirmed, “Yes, there are many… at first, I started with only fakes without a single real artifact. I bribed government officials and barely didn’t starve to death. Then, I moved to Sinuiju and became a grave robber. I stole a number of artifacts from the tombs in Kaesong and Hamgyeong Province and crossed the Amrok River** and went to China, only trusting a dealer I knew in China. At the time, I had to show him a few of the artifacts I had brought, and they allowed me to raise my children and get this far.”

Haejin then started to ask, “Then what you brought today is…”

“Grave robbing is not easy these days, even in North Korea. The time I used to work was when it was the easiest. I’ve brought the artifact I cherished more than my life when I crossed Amrok River,” Usik replied.

“You have made a big decision.”

Haejin really meant that.

If Usik had wanted to sell his artifact at a high price, he could have gone somewhere else.

“Oh, of course. Do you know why I came to you? Actually, most people who handle antiques are frauds, all in China, South Korea, and North Korea. But when I saw you on TV, I did some research on you.”

“On me?”

Usik nodded hard, “Even though this museum has been established recently, you are trying to bring back numerous Korean artifacts from abroad. You don’t hesitate to help those in need and you are the best appraiser in this country. I thought I could trust you more than any merchant in Insadong.”

“Why did you…”

Usik continued, “Why did I bother to be that careful on selling one antique? I’m almost as good as an expert on antiques as I have been trading them for decades in Sinuiju and Qinghezhen, but even people like me can get fooled. That’s how our world is. If I reveal the porcelain I have, all kinds of people would lunge in to get it. Of course, I would be able to sell it at the price I want. But what would happen next? Would this porcelain be able to remain in this country? I do not want to sin anymore, so I want you to buy it at a reasonable price.”

He was very straightforward.

He must have known he wouldn’t be able to sell the porcelain at a high price after telling everything like that, but he told Haejin all of that because he truly meant it.

“Okay then, let me take a look at that porcelain,” Haejin replied.

Usik’s porcelain was in a heavy wooden box.

He opened the lid, and inside, you could see the artifact covered in bubble wraps.

Once the cover was removed, you could finally see the porcelain. It was a Goryeo celadon.

Usik then explained, “Let me be honest. I didn’t tell the government when I brought this into the country. So, if they get to find out I’ve sold this to you, I will be in trouble. You know what I mean, right?”

Of course, he couldn’t have told the government. If he had it on his way to Korea from China, the celadon would have not been able to come to Korea even though it was a Korean artifact.

He would have been captured by the Chinese police, get charged for things he had done and hadn’t done, then spent the rest of his life in prison.

“I know, the police will never call you,” Haejin reassured him.

“Well, you are bold for a good-looking fellow.”

Usik smiled for the first time.

However, his smile vanished at Haejin’s question.

“But… do you still have friends in Sinuiju?”

*Lee Wanyong was the greatest Korean traitor. He sold his own country to the Japanese for his own good. He gave over a number of artifacts and tried to convince his fellow countrymen that being ruled by the Japanese and not having freedom was good for them. So now, his name is used as a symbol for traitors.

**Amrok River is the borderline between North Korea and China, just like Rio Grande. Emigrating without permission is a huge crime in North Korea, so there are armed guards at Amrok River. They