Book Probes How to Retrieve Royal Protocols
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
Currently, some nations are teaming up to retrieve lost relics mostly looted by imperial powers in the past, and Korea is among those seeking the return of stolen property.
Among others, Korea is eager to retrieve the 340 volumes of the ``Uigwe'' ― the royal protocols from Oegyujanggak (the Royal Library) which were pillaged by French troops on Ganghwa Island in 1866.
The decades-long dispute between Korea and France over the return of the royal documents resurfaced after a French court ruled for their ownership by the National Library of France earlier this year.
``The Kingdom's Legacy: Looking for Royal Protocols'' written by Yi Tae-jin, professor emeritus of Seoul National University, who has participated in the return move along with other scholars, elaborates the movement and the logic around the return of looted relics.
The book was first penned 16 years ago when the royal protocols in Paris emerged as a hot issue when the historical return of one of the books was made during the late French President Francois Mitterand's visit to Seoul to promote the sale of the country's high-speed trains. France gained a contract worth billions of dollars, but no more books have been returned so far and they remain in the possession of the French national library in Paris, which is vehemently opposed to returning them.
Historical Significance of 'Uigwe'
``Uigwe'' are the royal protocols, a model of rites and rituals unique to Korea, recorded during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910).
The historical documents record and prescribe through prose and illustration the major ceremonies and rites of the royal family.
Categorized by time and theme and comprised of over 3,895 books in Korea, the ``Uigwe'' makes it possible to understand the changes that took place over time in royal ceremonies and allows for detailed comparisons with other contemporaneous East Asian cultures.
Some 2,940 volumes of ``Uigwe'' are organized into 546 types and are presently held in Kyujanggak (Gyujanggak), or the Institute for Korean Studies, at Seoul National University.
About 490 volumes are organized into 287 types, and are presently in the possession of Jangseogak, the Academy of Korean Studies.
Around in 1866, about 6,000 books were placed in Oegyujanggak, but French troops led by Admiral Pierre-Gustave Roze unlawfully looted 340 of them from the library during the French occupation of Ganghwa Island.
Oegyujanggak was the royal archive established by King Jeongjo to safely store the original royal protocols. The books published and held by the royal libraries were unique as they contained numerous illustrations and diagrams of the highest quality.
But why is the nation eager to retrieve the books from Paris?
The books in the National Library of France are the originals designed for royal inspections, while the remaining books here are additional transcripts for relevant offices.
Therefore, there is a big difference between the quality of the paper that enabled the documents to endure, and the refined descriptions recorded by court artisans.
``Chojuji,'' the highest quality paper available then, was used to make the ``Uigwe'' for viewing by kings. The ``chojuji'' paper used for the king's copy was bordered with red lines, bound with a silk cover and used elaborate binding techniques, which included five bored holes with brass reinforcements.
Approaches to Redemption
The book says that the French government won't return the books to Korea because it might leave a ``bad'' precedent for similar cases.
However, the author says that the Korean treasure should be approached differently as it is directly connected to the pride of the nation of origin.
``The books have a unique nature that cannot be seen as commonly shared by the human race such as in artifacts like `Venus,' the Greek sculpture that holds universal beauty for all the human beings. The royal protocols are only special to the Korean people and they are the royal records of Korean history,'' he writes.
The book cites the late professor Paik Choong-hyun, saying the protocols were not subject to claims of ownership because they were made for the special purpose of the royal family. Paik, a professor of international law at Seoul National University, initiated the move to bring the royal protocols in Paris back home, leading to the government's first official request to the French government in 1991.
The more fundamental reason for the return of the books lies on the ``illegality of ownership'' in the first place. ``Taking the books from the royal library was apparently wartime pillage. Also, Roze ordered his troops to burn down some 6,000 remaining volumes,'' the author says.
The writer argues that France claims that it is part of French property because it has possessed them since 1867. However, the ancient Korean books remained unnoticed until a Korean professor, Park Byeong-seon, found them wrongly classified as Chinese documents in 1975. Worse, one of the books from Paris was sold to Britain at a low price.
``How can it be seen as part of French assets when the books were practically abandoned in store rooms of the library in France without any historical evaluation and research?'' the writer says.
In Korea, the extant ``Uigwe'' are safely stored at state-run libraries in excellent conditions provided by scientific preservation techniques proper for the time-honored documents.
Careful Approach Needed
The most important thing to bring the lost treasures back home is detailing the illegal process of ownership. Although the books from Oegyujanggak were stolen, this doesn't mean other items scattered around the world should be returned.
The author says that Korea should be careful to request the return of lost treasures only because they ``were'' national assets.
To retrieve them, the government should conduct comprehensive research on how many treasures are scattered around the world, and how these items were taken to discern the illegality of ownership.
Also, purchasing the national treasures in overseas auctions can be a way of retrieving them.
``We have to first prepare thoroughly to set up reasonable logic before requesting the return of the relics if we want to get them back. Reckless requests without any preparation might stir a diplomatic dispute,'' the author says.