The Cultural Heritage Administration will push ahead with various policies to promote the repatriation of Korean cultural properties that are currently outside the country and their utilization, the administration said Tuesday.

For this, the administration will establish a civilian foundation to exclusively deal with the return and utilization of Korean cultural properties abroad in July.

The administration also plans to hold an international conference in Seoul in October to be attended by international experts on the repatriation of cultural properties in foreign countries and representatives of non-governmental organizations.

The administration hopes the Seoul conference will contribute to raising international attention to the necessity of the repatriation of Korean properties abroad.

To heighten interest in cultural properties in foreign countries, the administration plans to develop “Arirang Roads,”

which will link foreign institutes that keep Korean cultural properties with historical sites in Korea that are related to the cultural properties.

A total of 149,126 Korean cultural properties are being kept in 20 foreign countries as of May, with the lion’s share being in Japan, according to official surveys. A total of 66,295 items are being kept in Japan, followed by 42,293 items in the United States and 10,792 items in Germany.

The number of Korean properties that have been returned to Korea from overseas locations totals 9,749 items, including 297 books of the Oegyujanggak Library returned from France and 1,205 books of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1905), which Japan returned last year. 

(Yonhap News)