More than 240,000 Korean artifacts are currently located outside of the country including those that have been stolen, plundered and sold or given as gifts.

According to Korean Cultural Heritage Administration and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 803 museums and art galleries in 29 countries around the world hold an estimated 246,304 artifacts as of January. This was a slight increase compared to January last year (229,655 artifacts).

By country, Japan held the highest number of Korean artifacts - a total of 109,801 items owned by 397 institutions, which accounted for 44.6 percent of the total.

This was followed by the US with 65,355 artifacts, Germany with 15,692, China with 13,010, UK with 12,805 and France 6,511.