President Yoon highlighted the return of precious 14th-century Buddhist artifacts to an American museum as a sign of closer ties between Seoul and Washington at a repatriation ceremony held in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday.
The remains of Buddhist monks from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), known as “sariras,” were illegally taken out of Korea during the Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945 and repurchased by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1939. The artifacts are believed to have come from Hoeamsa Temple in Yangju, where the repatriation ceremony took place.
In his speech, President Yoon called the return “a great joy for our Buddhist community and a cause for celebration for all our people.”
He reviewed the “long and difficult” 15-year journey to return the relics to Korea, calling them “a precious national heritage that symbolizes the orthodoxy and spiritual inheritance of Korean Buddhism.”
In February, the Seoul Museum of Art agreed to return the relic to the Jogye Order, South Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, in an effort that dates back to 2009.
The ceremony was attended by about 4,000 people, including Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon, members of the South Korean Legislative Assembly, Buddhist lawmakers and first lady Kim Keun-hee, who returned to public office last week.
On Thursday, Kim accompanied Yoon to a formal luncheon with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and first lady Petchamonix. It was Kim’s first public appearance since the presidential couple returned from a trip to the Netherlands in December last year. Previously, Kim was accused of accepting a luxury handbag from a priest.
Kim allegedly raised the request to resume negotiations for the return of the artifact during a visit to the Korea Museum of Art last year, after negotiations between the two sides failed in 2013.
Yoon and Kim made a state visit to the United States in April 2023, during which they also visited Boston. At the time, the first lady stressed in a meeting with Matthew Teitelbaum, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, that this would be “a very meaningful event for the 70th anniversary of the ROK-US alliance.”
This prompted the museum to restart negotiations with the Korea Heritage Service (formerly the Cultural Heritage Administration).
The Jogye Order said the first lady played a “key role” in facilitating the return of the artifacts.
Apart from diplomatic activities, this was Kim Jong-un’s first public event in 169 days. Previously, she visited the memorial altar of the late Jogye Order leader Jaseung on December 2.
On Saturday, Yoon Yong-chul attended the 44th anniversary ceremony of the May 18 Democratization Movement in Gwangju for the third consecutive year.
“Today’s Republic of Korea was built on the blood and tears that flowed in Gwangju,” Yoon Yong-chul said on the 44th anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement in 1980.
The ceremony was held at the Gwangju May 18 National Cemetery and was attended by about 2,500 people, including lawmakers from various parties and families of the victims.
Yoon Young-chul attended the ceremony for the first time since taking office on May 10, 2022. He is the second sitting president, after former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, to attend the Gwangju Democratization Movement activities for three consecutive years while in office.
