South Korean heritage agency counts over 250,000 artifacts overseas

Artifacts looted during wars and other crises in Korea’s history make up a significant share of cultural properties held overseas, with the largest number located in Japan, the Korea Heritage Service (KHS) said Wednesday.

According to the KHS and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (OKCHF), a total of 121,143 cases comprising 256,190 Korean artifacts have been identified abroad as of early this year. The tally is based on a survey of 801 institutions, including museums and galleries, across 29 countries such as Japan, the United States, and Germany.

Japan holds the largest share with 110,611 items, accounting for 43.2 percent of all overseas Korean cultural properties. The United States follows with about 68,000 artifacts, while Germany and Britain hold over 16,000 and 15,000 items respectively.

Many of these artifacts are believed to have been stolen or looted during periods of foreign intervention in the late 19th century and Japan’s colonial occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945, while others were taken abroad through legitimate transactions.

The KHS and OKCHF continue efforts to repatriate cultural properties deemed to have been taken illegally.

As of January, 2,855 items have been returned to Korea through the foundation.

Earlier, Qazinform reported that an ancient petroglyph had been discovered in Kyrgyzstan's Talas region.