Int'l experts seek to aid return of looted cultural properties

SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- Experts and academics from around the world agreed Tuesday to help countries retrieve stolen cultural properties by building international networks and sharing relevant data, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
The agreement came at a forum held in Seoul Tuesday among experts from Australia, Greece, Italy, South Korea and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), among other participants. The one-day meeting took place as the National Museum of Korea opened its first exhibition of a set of ancient Korean royal books, which were recently returned from France after 145 years.
"Cultural heritage is irreplaceable, has symbolic meaning to the people of the country of origin and is fundamental to their cultural rights," the participants said in a joint declaration released to the press by the ministry.
"Bilateral and multilateral international cooperation for the return of cultural property constitutes a crucial means to restore a people's identity and enhance mutual understanding and respect," they said.
To facilitate the return of these artifacts with cultural and historical value, the experts suggested making better use of existing databases on stolen works of art and to get active intergovernmental cooperation to build international networks for their retrieval. They also encouraged sharing information on successful returns.
South Korea last month celebrated the return of the 297-volume "Oegyujanggak" books, which were looted by French troops in 1866 when they invaded Ganghwa Island in retaliation for Koreans' persecution of French Catholic missionaries. The ancient texts, featuring protocols of royal ceremonies and rites from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), were returned on a renewable lease under a summit agreement made between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, in November last year.
South Korea is also expected to retrieve a separate collection of ancient documents from Japan later this year following Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's pledge last August to return the books and other Korean cultural relics as a show of goodwill. The royal archives from the same dynasty were taken to Japan during Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.
hague@yna.co.kr