From the Dong-a Ilbo: North Korea to Get Bukgwan Victory Monument

The Bukgwan Victory Monument (Bukgwan Daecheop Bi), seized by Japan and returned to Korea last October after 100 years outside the country, will be sent to North Korea in June… relevant institutions decided to send the Bukgwan Victory Monument to North Korea in commemoration of the June 15 Joint Declaration at a recent National Assembly meeting… South Korea is asking North Korea to put the monument in Gilju, Hamkyong Province, where it was originally located.

Although I am contemptuous of the tie to the June 2000 North-South accord (Kim Dae-jung paid about 1.7 billion dollars to the North for their agreement to meet), putting the monument back in its original location in Gilju is a good enough reason.

Like the Kwanggaet’o Stele, the Bukgwan Victory Monument has a colorful history:

The Bukgwan Victory Monument (북관대첩비, Bukgwandaecheopbi in Korean: ) is a stone stela commemorating a series of Korean military victories between 1592 and 1594 against the invading army of Japan during the Seven-Year War. It was subsequently taken to Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. It eventually discovered on the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, prompting a Korean outcry that it be returned. In a ceremony on 12 October 2005, it was turned over to officials from South Korea, who plan to return it to its original location, which is now in North Korea. The Korean name is commonly translated as great victory at Buzkgwan.