“The Return of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe from France: Records of the State Rites of the Joseon Dynasty” is a special exhibition to celebrate the repatriation of historical documents during the Joseon dynasty (former Korean kingdom) from France. The exhibition is being held at the National Museum of Korea, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, until September 18th, except on Mondays, when the museum is closed. The exhibition is divided into six sections, arranged with various styles and materials, also making use of electronics.

Uigwe is a collection of Korean royal texts, which are usually recorded royal ceremonies with drawings. Royal ceremonies such as a funeral, coronation, and wedding ceremony show Joseon’s recordkeeping tradition. The Joseon dynasty had two types of Uigwe, one for kings and members of the royal family and another for general purposes and recording history. The Uigwe of kings and the royal family are of better quality than other Uigwe. An example is the durable paper and over-painting techniques. “I am really surprised by the Joseon dynasty’s recording technology and beautiful calligraphy. Moreover, the paper looks durable because the color on the paintings was not diluted,” said Jo Dong-Ja, a woman visiting the exhibition. When a king finished reading Uigwe, the books were stored in Oegyujanggak (the royal archive) on Ganghwa Island in Incheon, so Uigwe for kings are usually exhibited.

In 1866, French soldiers were dispatched to Ganghwa Island, Korea, after some French priests were killed. They wanted to sign a trade treaty with Joseon Dynasty.

Daewonkoon, the Joseon ruler, however, refused to yield to their demands, and attacked the soliders. The French were eventually forced to retreat, but they burned the palace buildings and Oegyujanggak. They also looted precious materials such as gold, silver, jewelry, and many invaluable documents including Uigwe, which were preserved at Oegyujanggak. This incident was called the ‘Byeongin yangyo.’

When Dr. Park Byeong-Seon found these precious documents in the National Library of France, she was working there as a librarian. She made an effort to return these books by making it known that they were in the library. She also sent letters to the government for help returning the books. Thanks to her efforts, in 1993, the first book of Uigwe was returned. Finally, at the G20 summit held in Seoul in 2010, the two countries came to an agreement about the returning of the remaining Uigwe. In 2011, the other books were returned to Korea, after 145 years of having been outside of Korea.

 Many historians regard this repatriation as a further step toward the recovery of history because royal ceremonies and historical facts were specifically described in these books. The numbers of officials and colors of clothes for ceremonies are written, for example.

Moreover, this repatriation included 30 books. Except them, no other copies have ever been found to exist, so it will help to understand Joseon Dynasty’s history and culture.

However, some foreigners have difficulty understanding the meaning of Uigwe in this exhibition. The main problem is language. This exhibition provides very little English - only for the names of the books and several historical facts - so some visitors can barely understand the meaning of Uigwe and its value. “Despite the beauty I felt looking at the books, I got little information because so little explanation in English is provided,” said Kat, a visitor from Canada.

Editor in Chief Lee G-Hae

hototto@kookmin.ac.kr