Repatriation of looted cultural assets is an issue that engages not only scholars and experts but also rouses patriotic sentiment among the public.
The decades-long negotiation to bring back royal books that were taken from Korea in 1866 during the French troops’ invasion of Ganghwado showed that cultural assets are more than just art.
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Ahn Hwi-joon, director of the foundation for repatriation of cultural assets overseas, poses at his office on Thursday in Seoul. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald) |
“They are our roots, who we are. They are the objects of our ancestors and direction for our future,” said Ahn Hwi-joon, professor emeritus of art at Seoul National University. Ahn was appointed last month as the director of the foundation for repatriation of cultural assets overseas by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the number of Korean cultural assets taken to foreign countries stands at around 150,000. But only 6.5 percent have been returned. The majority were returned via donations or through government negotiations. Some of them have been repurchased by Koreans.
Ahn said his foundation will first work on classifying the cultural assets into three categories: those that have been smuggled, looted or forcefully taken away; those that have been legitimately conferred through governmental agreements or trade and others; and those whose route of procurement has not been identified.
“They are Korea’s assets and we will do whatever we can to bring them back. We will use our art, diplomatic and other channels to conduct talks and make it work,” he said.
A very good example is the repatriation of “Uigwe,” Joseon’s royal texts depicting royal rites, in 2011, about 145 years after being looted by the French military.
Ahn stressed that getting such items returned was important, since many of them are believed to be kept in storage without being studied. “We can study them and uncover their true value,” Ahn said.
If cultural assets were handed to foreigners as gifts through diplomatic channels or through legitimate trade, then we should have the owners make the most out of the items, Yoon said.
“We should encourage them to exhibit them in museums to promote understanding of Korean culture and history among the public,” he said. “That’s how Chinese and Japanese arts have been recognized and become part of the mainstream in the West and how we can build up our own in the future,” he added.
The trickier will be the third category where it is unclear how the cultural assets were obtained. Ahn said these are the cases in which the foundation will play an important role.
“The foundation will track down and verify the origin. If they are worth repatriation, we will use all our powers to get them back. But if they are better off being overseas ― in cases where they are not so useful in academic research or are well preserved in the respective countries ― perhaps we will ask for thorough management and monitoring as well as exhibitions and other events needed to promote Korean culture,” he said.
Ahn stressed that the most important thing that is needed at this crucial stage is public awareness. “I urge the government to mandate education in cultural assets for all students as well as civil servants. I also urge the media to give the issue as much attention as they give economy and other fields,” he said.
“Look at the Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese endeavors to regain their historical assets. I am sure they appreciate the value of their heritages. That’s what we must head toward,” he said.
By Bae Ji-sook (
baejisook@heraldcorp.com)
