One Sunday when he climbed Moran Hill with his family members, Choe Pong Chol, a researcher at the Korea National Heritage Preservation Agency under the National Authority for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (NAPCH) of the DPRK, faced an unexpected question from his little son.

Gazing steadily at the Ulmil Pavilion of great antiquity, the boy suddenly asked him, “Has it been discolured so much as it is an old house?”

“His question made a big impact on me, as I’m responsible for preserving national cultural heritage properly. It seemed as if he was asking me, ‘Is it discolored as you did not fulfil your responsibility?’” recalled Choe.

The simple question immediately prompted him to make pigments for coloured painting that are clear in colour and resistant to sunlight, heat, humidity and cold and to start studying written records.

During his study of data on coloured painting, a kind of architectural decorative painting with a long history, Choe became confident that he could obtain all colours needed for coloured painting decoration if he had 12 standard colours including red, green and blue.

A research team was formed with Choe as leader, and it succeeded in making three primary colours first. It was easier than they imagined, but the colours were too bright and dark. So these did not suit the aesthetic taste of the Korean people, but rather, they might degrade the value of historical cultural heritage.

The researchers conducted another survey of many historical sites including Phyohun Temple in Mt Kumgang and Pohyon Temple in Mt Myohyang and finally found out the original colours of subdued and soft coloured painting.

On the basis of this the team discovered sources of pigments for 12 standard colours and analysed numerical values for them according to their brightness, tinting strength, oil absorption and hiding power through hundreds of rounds of tests and analyses. And they succeeded in making pigments for coloured painting that do not fade for a long time in the sunlight, wind and rain by mixing various kinds of mediums, dispersing agents, defoamers and preservatives.

“It was a great success, but it was also not easy to confirm the mixing ratio to obtain dozens of colours for coloured painting with 12 colours. To this end, the research team had to conduct tests hundreds of times again,” said Jong Yong Hui, an analyser of the agency.

After years-long painstaking efforts they finally collected scientific data on making all colours needed for the preservation of coloured painting.

The day when the paints for coloured painting were set as a national standard at the State Commission of Quality Management, Choe said, “From now on my son will be able to see my image through the beautiful coloured paintings of the historical relics.”