Hundreds of Thousands of South Korean Historical Artifacts Are Abroad

JAKARTA - More than 250,000 Korean historical artifacts are abroad, including those looted during wars or other crisis moments in the nation's history, with most of them in Japan, cultural heritage authorities said on Wednesday.

The South Korean Heritage Service (KHS) and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (OKCHF) said a total of 121,143 cases of Korean artifacts, with a total of 256,190 items, had been identified abroad by the start of this year.

The number is based on a survey of 801 institutions, including museums and art galleries, in 29 countries, including Japan, the United States and Germany, as reported by The Korea Times on February 18.

Japan was found to have the largest share of South Korean cultural relics with 110,611 pieces, representing 43.2 percent of all cultural properties overseas.

The United States came in next with about 68,000 South Korean artifacts, followed by Germany with more than 16,000 and the United Kingdom with about 15,000 items.

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

KHS and OKCHF have been working to repatriate cultural artifacts believed to have been illegally taken out of Korea.

As of January, a total of 2,855 goods have been returned to the country through OKCHF.