A Korea Heritage Service worker showcases "Sourcebook on Korea-Japan Relations," donated by a Korean American collector in May, during a press event at the National Palace Museum of Korea in central Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap By Kwon Mee-yoo Over a century after being seized by Japanese military police, documents written by leaders of Korea's independence movement have been retrieved and returned home, arriving just in time to commemorate the nation’s Liberation Day. The Korea Heritage Service (KHS), in cooperation with the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, unveiled at the National Palace Museum of Korea in central Seoul, Wednesday, several cultural artifacts representing Korea’s fervent struggle for independence from Japanese colonial rule.
The collection features two hand scrolls titled "Documents Related to Righteous Armies at the End of the Korean Empire," which were recovered from Japan in July with support from a lottery fund. These scrolls include nine documents authored by members of the Thirteen Provinces Alliance of Righteous Armies, such as Heo Wi and Yi Gang-nyeon, as well as four letters written by Yu Jung-gyo and Choe Ik-hyeon. The documents were confiscated by Japanese military police and later assembled into two handscrolls by a Japanese officer in 1939.
They have now been returned from Japan, providing new insights into the organized resistance efforts during the Japanese occupation. The "Sourcebook on Korea-Japan Relations," a four-volume set published in 1919 by the Korean Provisional Government, was originally intended for submission to the League of Nations, the precursor to the United Nations, to make the case for Korea’s independence. Recently donated by a Korean American collector, this rare set — one of only three complete sets remaining from the original 100 — is believed to have been owned by independence activist and one of its authors, Kim Byeong-jo (1877-1948), as indicated by the seal imprinted at the beginning of each volume.
This set is a crucial scholarly resource for understanding the dynamics of Korea's independence movement. Two hand scrolls titled "Documents Related to Righteous Armies at the End of the Korean Empire" were retrieved from Japan in July through a joint effort by the Korea Heritage Service and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation. Courtesy of KHS The third item, the "Hanging Board with the Poem 'The Rhyme for the Hall for the Tomb in Johyeon,'" was donated by a Korean collector and antique dealer based in Japan in June.
This wooden board features a poem by Song Hun, the father of independence activist Song Jin-woo, and commemorates a newly constructed hall at a tomb in Johyeon, now Damyang, South Jeolla Province. The heptasyllabic regulated verse inscribed on the board is a prayer for the prosperity of future generations. These artifacts will be displayed alongside the personal items of righteous army general Choe Ik-hyeon, such as garments and a belt, which were recently designated as national folklore cultural heritage.
KHS Administrator Choi Eung-Chon emphasized the significance of these returns. “The retrieval of cultural heritage items being revealed at this time is especially valuable in that it marks not simply the physical restoration to South Korea of cultural heritage from overseas, but the recapturing of the determination of Korean ancestors to defend the country,” Choi said. “This is also significant as a result of proactive administration made possible by collaboration between the government and the private sector, as well as a demonstration of the interest in Korean cultural heritage and the goodwill of their former owners.
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