Starbucks Korea donates Han Yong Un’s handwritten calligraphy to celebrate Independence Day

Starbucks Korea is celebrating the country's upcoming Independence Day by donating its prized handwritten calligraphy relic of Han Yong Un. The man was a historical figure, a twentieth-century Korean Buddhist reformer, and poet.

Starbucks Korea has donated his "Jeon Dae Beop Ryun" calligraphy to The National Trust for Cultural Heritage. The donation was also made in time for the 103rd anniversary of South Korea's March 1st Movement Day.

According to The Korea Times, the coffee chain acquired the precious masterpiece using funds it collected to save and preserve the country's cultural heritage related to the independence movement. Starbucks was said to have raised the funds last year.

"The relic is the only work by Han that was handwritten in such a large scale," Lee Dong Guk, the Seoul Arts Center's senior curator, said in a statement. "The piece also contains his spirit of great freedom and it has great historical significance and value."

It was learned that this is not the first donation from Starbucks Korea as it has been continuously donating for quite some time now. In fact, the company has already forwarded a number of Korean cultural assets to the National Trust for Cultural Heritage so they can be protected for years and decades to come.

Based on the report, some of the relics that Starbucks Korea had donated since 2015 include artifacts from the Korean independence movement leaders Ahn Chang Ho and Kim Gu. For the relic donations, the NTCH's chief director, Kim Jong Gyu, expressed his gratitude to the coffee chain for its efforts in helping save and preserve cultural assets that can be handed down to future generations.

"It is one of our meaningful activities to raise funds and donate cultural heritage related to the independence movement together with our customers," Song Ho Seob, Starbucks Korea's chief executive officer, said in reply to Kim's gratitude. "We will continue to work hard on protecting Korea's cultural assets while increasing people's interest in them."

Meanwhile, The Korea Herald reported that Han Yong Un's calligraphy that reads "Jeon Dae Beop Ryun" means that a "world of great truth does not settle but constantly evolves." This is said to be the only handwritten relic of the activist that is still in existence, so it holds more meaning and value in S. Korea's history.