The government purchased a historical building in Washington D.C., which was used as the legation building of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) and the Korean Empire (1897-1910) in the U.S. from 1891 to 1905, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Tuesday.

Korea retrieved ownership of the property 102 years after the country was annexed by Japan, the state-run organization said.

The three-story building, which is located about 10 minutes away from the White House by car, was first built in 1877 in the Victorian style of architecture. 

The property was purchased by the royals of Joseon Dynasty for $25,000 in 1891, and was used as a de-facto embassy of Joseon and subsequently the Korean Empire for 14 years until 1905. The state was annexed by Imperial Japan five years later.

The building was forced to be sold to the Japanese for only $5 in June of 1910, just two months before the Korea-Japan Annexation Treaty was signed. The treaty officially started Japanese colonial rule in Korea. Japan reportedly sold the building to an American for $10 in the same year.

Syngman Rhee, who served as Korea’s first president from 1948 to 1960, also visited the property in 1905 when he went to the U.S. to meet with then U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt in an attempt to ask for American support for independence of the Korean Empire.

The Korean-American community has been trying to purchase the building from the private owner since 1997. The Cultural Heritage Administration and The National Trust for Cultural Heritage together have been in contact with the owner -- who reportedly is a Washington D.C-based lawyer -- since January of this year. The government purchased the property for $3.5 million, according to the heritage administration.

The administration said it plans to use the property to promote Korea’s traditional culture.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)