[Arts & Culture] Lost Joseon-era building returns home from Japan after nearly 100 years

It's Friday, which means it's time for Arts and Culture.

We have our culture correspondent Choi Soo-hyung in the studio.

Welcome back, Soo-hyung!

Thank you for having me here, Dami!

So, what do you have for us today?

About a year ago, a lost Joseon-era building was returned home from Japan after about 100 years.

This is "Gwanwoldang," which is believed to have been used as a Joseon royal shrine, has been returned.

Around 5-thousand pieces have been revealed for the first time.

Let's take a look.

Roof tiles, wooden pillars, and planks all carefully wrapped one by one.

A lost Joseon-era building that had been hidden behind a Japanese Buddha statue for nearly 100 years has finally come home, piece by piece with nearly 5,000 wooden parts.

This building, called Gwanwoldang, is now being kept in the Traditional Architecture Elements Conservation Center in Paju, Gyeonggi-do Province.

It is the first time that a full wooden Korean structure like this has been returned home.

It used to be located at the very back of a famous Japanese temple called Kotoku-in in Kanagawa Prefecture.

It is believed that in 1924, during the Japanese occupation of Korea, the building was given to a Japanese businessman by the Joseon Industrial Bank, and from there, it was moved to Japan.

Later, the building was donated to the temple and used as a prayer room until it was first revealed in the 1990s by a Korean professor Kim Jeong-dong.

Though Korea tried several times to bring it back, those efforts failed, until last year.

However, thanks to the support and strong will of Takao Sato, the chief priest of the temple, the return was made possible ensuring the shrine could be preserved in its original home, Korea.

Experts say the building may be related to royal architecture, based on the unique and colorful roof tile designs, including dragons and butterflies.

"This feature has a striking appearance. It is usually found in palace buildings, and at Gwanwoldang, 10 pillar patterns like this were installed. This shows that Gwanwoldang is linked to royal architecture."

"There are five known remaining, Joseon royal shrines. We think this one was also royal, but likely outside in a small palace near Gyeongbokgung. It's probably a prince's shrine, smaller than those for royal concubines."

Park also noted that, even though the building stayed in Japan for a long time, there are clear signs that any attempts at restoration followed traditional Joseon architectural styles.

"The roof tiles taken from Joseon were only the original ones installed at Gwanwoldang. So, if those tiles were damaged, they would have had made new ones in Japan. But they copied the original Joseon's designs exactly, even though the dragon pattern is very complex to produce."

Administrator of Korea Heritage Service, Huh Min, also expressed a strong commitment to continue bringing back cultural heritage items that were taken out of the country.

"Currently, about 247,000 national heritage items have been taken abroad. Of these, only about 5 percent have been returned by repatriation or donation. We are determined to recover all items that were stolen or illegally taken."

Once research are complete, the plan is to restore Gwanwoldang by preserving its key parts and recreating the damaged sections using traditional methods as much as possible.

Right, Soo-hyung. Then, what is the current stage of the research progress on Gwanwoldang?

Actually, there's not much information about whether "Gwanwoldang" is even its real name, what it was used for, where it was located, or when it was built.

Even in the process of it being taken abroad, it is believed that the Joseon Industrial Bank gave it to a Japanese businessman, but also, we still don't know how the bank came to possess it in the first place.

Experts said since the building was made of wood, tree rings and carbon dating can reveal when the timber was cut and the structure was built, providing important clues about its age and possibly even about who owned it.

I'm sure a lot of research will be needed.

So, what are the restoration plans for Gwanwoldang?

Fortunately, the damage is not severe, so many key parts can likely be preserved.

KHS plans to restore Gwanwoldang to its original location after the investigation.

However, if that site is already occupied, they are considering restoring it elsewhere, as they did with Ajaedang, now in Paju.

Originally located at Unhyeongung in Seoul, Ajaedang was moved because the original site had been redeveloped.

Most of its original materials were reused, with damaged parts restored using traditional methods.

Gwanwoldang will be restored in a similar way.

And Soo‑hyung, besides Gwanwoldang, what other cultural heritage items are being preserved at the conservation center?

Currently, besides those awaiting restoration, some items are preserved under strict temperature and humidity controls between 65 percent and 80 percent.

Around 3,500 burnt pillars, panels, and debris from Sungnyemun Gate, which was destroyed in a 2008 fire, are being stored.

Also, peeled dancheong traditional decorative coloring and broken pillars from various buildings from Gyeongbokgung Palace are stored awaiting restoration.

Soo-hyung, thanks for sharing your report.

My pleasure.