South Korea’s endless endeavors to recover looted cultural assets have yielded fruit this year.

On May 27th, the last batch of the 296-volume Oegyujanggak Uigwe collection arrived in South Korea. The collection, which was part of a royal library during the Joseon Dynasty, had been stored at the National Library of France since French soldiers looted the books during France’s 1866 invasion of Ganghwa Island. The books describe the protocols of royal ceremonies and rituals in the form of writings and drawings.

The books returned home after 145 years and 13 years after President Kim Young-sam and French President François Mitterrand agreed on having South Korea retake the books.

On December sixth, 12-hundred Korean royal texts were returned home from Japan after more than a century. The texts include the Joseon Wangsil Uigwe, which is a collection of documents illustrating royal protocols of the Joseon Dynasty. The move came after five ancient Korean books were returned by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda when he visited Seoul for a bilateral summit in October.
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However, some observers have expressed regret over the fact that the Oegyujanggak Uigwe collection was returned in the form of a permanent lease and that Japan used the term ‘transfer’ rather than ‘return’ when it gave back the ancient books.

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