Some 1,200 Joseon Dynasty-era books looted by Japan during the colonial era will be returned to Korea on Tuesday afternoon, a government official said.
According to the official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the books will be divided and delivered on two flights, each carrying 600 books. The books will arrive at the Incheon International Airport at 3:35 p.m. and 4:35 p.m., respectively, said the official.
Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Park Suk-hwan and Japan’s ambassador to Seoul, Masatoshi Muto, will hold a simple ceremony at the airport to mark the books’ return, he said.
The ancient books include “Uigwe,” or royal protocols of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).
Click here to read this article from the Korean Herald
Japan to send 1,200 Korean royal archives to S. Korea on Tuesday
Japan will send 1,200 volumes of ancient Korean archives to the South Korean government by air on Tuesday, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Monday.
The archives were seized by Japan during its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The handover will take place ahead of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak's expected visit to Japan in mid-December to hold talks with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
Noda brought with him five volumes of historic Korean archives when he and Lee held talks in October in Seoul. The transfer of the 1,205 archives, including texts of royal protocols, known as "Uigwe," for the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), was promised by Noda's predecessor, Naoto Kan, last year upon the centenary of Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula.
Click here to read this article from The Mainichi Daily News
