The collectibles of South Korean baseball legend Park Chan-ho and his spiritual mentor, Beopjeong Sunim, opened the first episode of ‘100 People’s Appraisal Show: The Signature’.
The first broadcast of KBS1’s ‘100 People’s Appraisal Show: The Signature’ on the 29th is a new concept appraisal program that highlights the lives of individuals representing various fields such as art, sports, broadcasting, and culture through their collectibles, or ‘signatures’. It gained attention by revisiting not only the appraisal of objects but also the narratives and emotional sentiments of the individuals behind them.
The first signature featured the glove, baseball, and spikes used by Park Chan-ho, known as the ‘Korean Express’, who made history as the first Korean to enter Major League Baseball in 1994 while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Given that Park Chan-ho became an icon of hope and inspiration during the 1997 financial crisis in South Korea, his ‘signature’ was expected to hold value beyond mere sports memorabilia.
Park Chan-ho stated, “1997 holds great significance for me. I established a foundation. At that time, many children from single-parent families were unable to attend school. I founded the foundation to help unemployed parents' children by providing scholarships and opportunities to go to school. I have walked a path to instill goals, dreams, and a spirit of challenge in young baseball players,” which drew admiration.
Three players from the foundation are currently active in the KBO League, and particularly, Kim Hye-seong, who is playing for the LA Dodgers, revealed that he is a graduate of the first class of the ‘Park Chan-ho Baseball Camp’ and praised him as “a wonderful junior who passes on the dreams he received.”
The ‘signature’ he presented included the victory ball from his first win in Major League Baseball, a glove inscribed with “Mental Focus” in Korean, and spikes with dirt from the last game of the 1997 season, making it a collection full of meaning. The average appraisal value of the three collectibles determined by the 100-member national appraisal team was approximately 1.6 billion won.
In response, Park Chan-ho expressed surprise, saying, “The amount was much higher than I expected. I am glad that my career is being recognized more greatly.” Meanwhile, the professional appraisal team valued it at 340 million won. Park Chan-ho added, “I hope that 100 years from now, juniors and descendants will see the ‘signature’ and have dreams, becoming a symbol of challenging despair again.”
The second signature featured the ‘Papillon Chair’ of Beopjeong Sunim, a spiritual teacher who represented South Korea and passed away in 2010. It was introduced by his first disciple, Deokjo Sunim, and former announcer Lee Gye-jin, known as Beopjeong Sunim’s disciple who did not leave the monastic life, stating that the chair was made and used by Beopjeong Sunim while writing ‘Non-possessiveness’.
The ‘Papillon Chair’ was named with the meaning that Beopjeong Sunim reflected on whether he was wasting his life after seeing the character in the movie ‘Papillon’ who was trapped in a remote island, considering it a sin of wasting life.
The ‘Papillon Chair’ was also selected as an excellent case in the ‘Finding Modern and Contemporary Cultural Heritage’ contest by the Cultural Heritage Administration, highlighting its exceptional value. The 100-member appraisal team stated that the value of the ‘signature’ containing Beopjeong Sunim’s teachings and warmth could not be measured. The professional appraisal team also declared it as ‘a priceless treasure’, meaning ‘Mugaji-bo (無價之寶)’, and gave up on the appraisal.
Deokjo Sunim remarked, “I hope that the ‘Papillon Chair’, which maintained a suitable distance from the world and contemplated, will be remembered for a long time as a ‘spiritual heritage’ imbued with the spirit of practitioners,” prompting deep reflection on the meaning of cultural assets.
‘100 People’s Appraisal Show: The Signature’ is a new concept appraisal program where actor Kim Jung-eun and announcer Park Cheol-kyu share appraisals in real-time with the public. Episode 2 will be broadcast live on the 30th at 7:40 PM.
