뉴스레터

『Wangseja Chaekraedogam Uigwe』 returned from Japan in 2011 ⓒNational Palace Museum of Korea

'Illegal Mining' conducted in the name of excavating remains during the Japanese colonial period

Ito Hirobumi(伊藤博文) boasted to Emperor Gojong about collecting Goryeo celadon. Gojong said he had never seen such a thing before, and asked Ito where it came from. Ito could not say that it was from the grave, and he hesitated.

Since the establishment of the Japanese Resident-General of Korea in 1905, royal documents and books kept in Kyujanggak and Imperial Library have been under Japanese management. At that time, there were about 100,000 books in Kyujanggak. During the Japanese colonial rule, Japan investigated cultural assets with the pretext of protecting the remains of Joseon. During the investigation, they showed great interest in old objects such as ceramics. So there was a trend to collect artworks, and the robbers dug graves from all over the place. It was immoral to dig up the tombs of ancestors in the Confucian society of Joseon. In the early 1920s, Japan excavated artifacts from many tombs such as Yangsan Bubuchung(1920) and Geumgwanchong(1921) through the Committee on Investigations of Historical Sites, and took them all to Japan. It was a slaughter done under the name of 'excavation of remains'.

Returning cultural assets, it is the liquidation of colonial rule and the starting point of the relationship between Korea and Japan

Activities to regain cultural assets taken out to Japan began shortly after liberation in 1945. A list of cultural assets taken out centering on the Jindan Hakhoe has been written. Their actions are a trace of history that has violated civilization. The Rhee government wrote the 『Claim for Japan's Compensation』 in 1949. This lists in detail the things to be returned from Japan. This included not only the Japanese Resident-General of Korea and Japanese Government General of Korea taking out, but also personal collections.

President Rhee said that the return of cultural assets is a minimum demand for Japan, and ordered that it must be carried out. The return of cultural assets was considered to be the liquidation of colonial rule and the starting point of Korea-Japan relations. Negotiations on cultural assets have been a very difficult battle for the Korean government. International law at the time served to guarantee the rights of imperialist countries. It was very disadvantageous to the colonial states. There were no cases returned except for the cultural assets plundered during the war. Rather, imperialist countries refused to return, pretexting protection of cultural assets.

The process of negotiations was not smooth: The South Korean government has called for 3,200 to be returned, but less than half have returned.

The key to negotiations on the return of cultural assets was to make a list of cultural assets that Japan would return. This sparked debate over ownership, leading to an assessment of colonial rule. According to Japanese diplomatic documents, the Japanese government's policy on the return of cultural assets was clear before the start of the Korea-Japan talks. First, since Korea is not a warring country of World War II, there is no cultural assets of Joseon that Japan should return. Second, only some cultural assets owned by the government will be ‘donated’, not ‘returned’. Third, if we celebrate independence and donate it in terms of cultural cooperation, the period is from 1910 to 1945. Fourth, the term ‘return’ and ‘return to the original state’ of the looted cultural assets required by Korea cannot be used at all; it returns some of the artifacts to Korea in the way of ‘donation’.

Japan has taken a stance to refuse to return the cultural assets, saying, "It is not a matter for Korea to decide on the return of cultural assets, but a matter for Japan to choose." Rather, Japan demanded the Korean government to prove evidence of how these were obtained and come to Japan through what route. By the end of the negotiations, the Japanese government tried to minimize the cultural assets to be returned.

The cultural assets Japan would return varied. 1) The ancient books of Joseon, which are presumed to have been plundered during the Japanese invasion of Korea, are owned by the Hosa Library, a collection of Tokugawa family 2) Goryeo celadon and valuables sent to Emperor Meiji by gathering Ito Hirobumi's stolen goods from Kaesong and other places 3) A book stolen by Kawai hirotami after setting up Japanese military police as sentry and breaking keys to the royal library in Ganghwa Island 4) National Treasure including the Silla Crown taken by Ogura takenosuke 5) Relics from Bubuchung in Yangsan, Gyeongnam 6) Artifacts from the tombs in Noseo-li, Gyeongju 7) Books of Joseon taken by Governor General Terauchi Masatake, etc. The number of cultural assets that Korea demanded Japan to return was about 3,200. But only a small fraction of that was returned. During the 1958 the Republic of Korea-Japan negotiations, 106 was returned. And 1,326 returned on May 27 of the same year, according to the 1966 Agreement concerning Cultural Assets and Cultural Cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Japan.

The Korean government demanded the return of relics excavated from the Bubuchong in Yangsan until the end. However, the Japanese Cultural Heritage Protection Committee rejected the relics from Bubuchong as valuable objects that explain the relationship between ‘Imna’ and Japan. The Japanese Cultural Heritage Commission said that if the relics are returned, the Japanese researchers studying Joseon will be more rebellious and Korea will not be able to preserve them properly. This is a scene that the perception of Japanese colonial rule is revealed.

The Possibility of Return of Cultural Assets

As the name ‘Agreement concerning Cultural Assets and Cultural Cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Japan’, there is a possibility of returning cultural assets. The level of international awareness of the return of cultural assets is increasing. Korea returned the foundation stone of the Jaseondang at the Okura Hotel in 1996, and returned the Bukgwan Victory Monument(Bukgwan Daecheop Bi) in 2005. And Korea returned the Joseon Wangjo sillok(Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty), which was kept in the library at Odae Mountain in 2006, and returned 81 Uigwe and 167 books of the Joseon Dynasty in 2010. The return of cultural assets also played a major role in improving diplomatic relations. The return of Uigwe of the Joseon Dynasty was made as a follow-up to the Statement by Prime Minister Kan Naoto, which apologizes for colonial rule.

The issue of returning cultural assets is not just a matter for Korea. The British Museum and The Louvre Museum have many relics of Greece and Egypt. Do you need an explanation for this reason? A large amount of cultural assets were moved to cities of the country that invaded. This has happened all over the world. People of countries that have undergone colonial rule must see the cultural assets created by their ancestors in museums in other countries today. What if someone brings the national treasure of Japan, Matsue Castle, to a city in Korea? So can we feel the original style? If Uigwe of the Joseon Dynasty returned in 2011 was in Kunaicho, Japan, it would have been hard to feel its true meaning. Cultural assets are linked to the identity of the people who made them, and memories of history.