Retrieved ancient Korean books to go on display at National Museum

SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- A collection of ancient royal Korean books will be on display at a national museum here from this week for the first time since they were retrieved from France earlier this year, the museum said Monday.
The "Oegyujanggak" books, which detail the protocols of royal ceremonies and rites of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), were looted by French troops in 1866 when they invaded Ganghwa Island in retaliation for Koreans' persecution of French Catholic missionaries.
After keeping them at the French National Library for decades, France returned them through a renewable lease in four shipments from April to May.
The National Museum of Korea said during a tape-cutting ceremony of the exhibition held on Monday that a total of 165 items of relics, including 71 books out of the 297-volume Oegyujanggak collection, will be shown to visitors. The ceremony was held one day ahead of the official beginning of the special exhibition, titled "The Return in 145 Years: Oegyujanggak Uigwe," from July 19 to Sept. 18.



"This exhibition has a meaning as an event to promote the importance of Oegyujanggak Uigwe, and, above all, sharing the joy of the books' retrieval," Kim Young-na, chief of the museum, said in a statement.
"Pungjeongdogam Uigwe," which was published in 1630 and is the oldest in the collection, will be included in the exhibition, according to the museum.
To avoid making it into a simple and "boring" exhibit of ancient books, the museum is also making full use of video, Kim said.
The return came after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, agreed in November to transfer the books on a renewable lease.
Seoul had long sought to retrieve the Oegyujanggak books. Former French President Francois Mitterrand returned one of the books on a permanent lease basis in 1993, but the other volumes had remained in France.