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Japan holds the largest number of Korean historic artifacts kept outside the Korean Peninsula, reflecting a legacy tied to its colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, according to figures compiled by the Korea Heritage Service (KHS) and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (OKCHF).
More than 250,000 Korean historical items are currently held abroad, Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the two institutions. The report notes that the overseas holdings include objects taken during wars and other periods of national crisis, alongside items that were moved abroad through legitimate transactions.
The artifacts are spread across 801 institutions in 29 countries, the report said, pointing to a wide distribution that reaches far beyond East Asia and into major Western collections.
Japan alone holds 110,611 Korean cultural relics, accounting for 43.2% of all Korean cultural properties reported to be overseas. The United States ranks second with about 68,000 artifacts, followed by Germany with 16,000, while the United Kingdom holds around 15,000, according to the same figures.
Many of the artifacts are believed to have been stolen or looted during foreign interventions in the late 19th century and throughout Japan’s colonial rule of Korea, the report said.
It added that other items were transferred overseas through lawful purchases or other legitimate means.
KHS and OKCHF are working to bring back items believed to have been taken illegally, according to the report. As of January, more than 2,800 items have been returned through OKCHF, it said.
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