Three cultural artifacts related to independence struggle come home

The Korea Heritage Service announced Wednesday that it has successfully repatriated three sets of cultural artifacts tied to the nation’s struggle for independence from Japan and the United States.

A pair of scrolls consisting of 13 documents related to the Korean resistance during the late Joseon period made a homecoming just in time to mark the country's Independence Day [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

Each scroll is four meters long and has letters and documents written by key independence activists [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

"I'm concerned that my younger brother's capture may have disappointed some of the Righteous Armies and caused them to lose discipline. We must join forces with even greater determination, encouraging one another and work together as one to accomplish our great cause. We must care for one another and protect each other more than before so that we can restore our nation's sovereignty and protect the people and the country."

This is a part of a handwritten letter written by one of Korea's key independence activists Heo Gyeom (1851-1939) on May 17 on the lunar calendar of 1908 when Korea was continuing to resist against Japan. Heo's brother Heo Wi (1855-1908) was a division commander of the Thirteen Provinces Alliances of Righteous Armies that was formed in Yangju, Gyeonggi, in 1907. This group of Righteous Armies, also known as uibyeong in Korean, was active in the late period of Joseon (1392-1910) and was known as one of the most organized and nationwide groups among the righteous armies.

“Though he was tormented by his brother's capture, his earnest plea to the righteous armies to not lose spirit and to continue fight for Korea's independence is heart-rending,” said Park Chul-sang, head of the Research Institute of Traditional Korean Literature. "It vividly shows how Korea's independence activists felt about fighting for the country. It is truly meaningful to have this valuable cultural heritage shown to the public for the first time since it was written more than a century ago.”

The Korea Heritage Service announced Wednesday that it has successfully repatriated three sets of cultural artifacts tied to the nation’s struggle for independence from Japan and the United States. The three artifacts are: two scrolls consisting of documents related to the Korean resistance during the late Joseon period; a historical compilation of Korea-Japan relations published by the Korean Provisional Government in 1919; and a wooden plaque inscribed with poetry.

A staff at the National Palace Museum in central Seoul, carefully spreads out one of the scrolls during the press conference held on Wednesday. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

Heo's letter is one of the 13 documents written by Korea's independence activists in 1907-8. Nine of them are documents written by members of the Thirteen Provinces Alliances of Righteous Armies including Heo Wi and Yi Gang-nyeon (1858-1908), another key member of the group, while four are letters written by renowned activists like Heo, Yu Jung-gyo (1821-1893) and Choe Ik-hyeon (1833-1906). According to the Korea Heritage Service, these documents were extorted by a Japanese military police named Choji Akutagawa shortly after it was created. It was later in 1939, after his retirement, that he assembled these documents into the present form of two scrolls, which measures four meters each in length.

Akutagawa gave the two scrolls titles and added footnotes to each, detailing who the author is.

“Letters from rebel leaders who rejected Japan at the end of the Joseon Dynasty” is the title given to one scroll, while the other is entitled, “Manifesto by rebel leaders of a mob who rejected Japan at the end of the Joseon Dynasty.”

Korean independence activists' documents were assembled into a pair of scrolls by a Japanese military police in 1939. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

Why would a Japanese military police officer carefully turn these documents of Korea's independence activists into a pair of expensive-looking scrolls? Were they considered as war trophies?

"I'm pretty sure the military police officer sucked the blood of Korean independence activists to move his way up the ranks and finally had his honorable retirement,” said Park Min-young, a former researcher at the Independence Hall of Korea, whose expertise has been Korean righteous armies since 1984.

"He extorted these documents written by key leaders of the righteous armies and he knew very well how valuable these documents would become,” he said. “He would've extorted a lot more documents but kept these especially as he knew very well who the authors were. He didn't keep them merely as a trophy. He was well aware of their significance.”

Korea Heritage Service and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation were notified last December that a Japanese collector who had purchased the two scrolls the previous year wished to put them up for sale. After examining the scrolls, the Korea Heritage Service said it made the purchase using the lottery fund and brought it back to home soil on July 31.

The pair of scrolls, which will now be in the National Palace of Museum's collection, will soon be exhibited for public viewing.

Sourcebook on Korea-Japan Relations, a four-volume set compiled by the Korean Provisional Government in 1919 [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

Sourcebook on Korea-Japan Relations, a four-volume set compiled by the Korean Provisional Government in 1919 [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

Another significant artifact that made the homecoming is the Sourcebook on Korea-Japan Relations, a four-volume set compiled by the Korean Provisional Government in 1919. It is said that a total of 100 sets were published to advocate for Korean independence at the League of Nations. This returned set, donated in May by a Korean American collector who wished for the historically valuable documents to be shared with the public, is one of three complete sets known to exist.

One more set is currently housed in the Independence Hall of Korea and has been designated as a nationally registered cultural heritage. The other is being held at the C.V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University.

The returned version is especially valuable for future research as it has a seal of Kim Byeong-jo (1877–1948) imprinted at the beginning of each volume. Kim was an independence activist and one of the 33 Korean leaders of the March First Movement in 1919. As a member of the temporary source compilation committee, he wrote the Sourcebook on Korea-Japan Relations along with Yi Won-ik and Kim Du-bong.

Sourcebook on Korea-Japan Relations, a four-volume set compiled by the Korean Provisional Government in 1919 [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

According to Park from the Research Institute of Traditional Korean Literature, having the seal of an author is very rare, adding that this returned version may even be sutaekbon, meaning that it was a book that has been kept close to its owner and read frequently.

The final artifact, a wooden signboard with a poem engraved on it, known as sipan in Korean, was donated in June by Kim Kang-won, a Tokyo-based antique dealer. This plaque was created by Song Hun, father of the independence activist Song Jin-woo, and commemorates the construction of a family memorial in the late 19th century in Damyang, South Jeolla Province.

"Johyeon Myogagun," a signboard with a poem engraved on it, written by Song Hun, the founder of Damyang School [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

The signboard is called “Johyeon Myogagun,” or "The Rhyme for the Hall for the Tomb in Johyeon” in English. It is written by Song Hun to mark the establishment of a new hall known as myogak, constructed to hold rituals next to a tomb in Johyeon. Johyeon is an old area, which currently is an area in Gwangdeok-ri in Damyang County, South Jeolla.

The sourcebook and the signboard will be in Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation's collection and public viewing will be organized at later dates.

“The repatriation of these cultural assets is not just a physical return of our heritage but a profound restoration of the spirit with which our ancestors defended our nation,” said Choi Eung-chon, head of the Korea Heritage Service.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]