Japan demands "15 billion"… Return of 'Baekje Miso Bosal' ultimately fails, Korea offers 4.2 billion

National Treasure No. 293 Baekje Smile Bodhisattva, housed at the National Buyeo Museum. Source = Cultural Heritage Administration

[Asia Economy Reporter Nahana] It has been pointed out that the repatriation of the 7th-century Baekje masterpiece "Baekje Gilt-bronze Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Statue" (also known as Baekje Smile Bodhisattva) was virtually canceled due to the unreasonable price demands of the Japanese owner.

According to materials submitted by the Cultural Heritage Administration on the 11th to Lee Byung-hoon (Gwangju Dong-gu Nam-gu Eul), a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the Democratic Party, the Cultural Heritage Administration halted the repatriation process of the Baekje Smile Bodhisattva after negotiations broke down in 2018 over the purchase price.

The Baekje Smile Bodhisattva was discovered in two pieces in 1907; one piece is designated as National Treasure No. 293 and is currently housed at the National Buyeo Museum. The other piece was confiscated by the Japanese military police at the time. Later, Japanese collector Ichida Jiro purchased it as an object of worship and exported it to Japan.

Academia evaluates the Baekje Smile Bodhisattva exported to Japan as having higher artistic value than the National Treasure No. 293 piece remaining in Korea.

The National Museum of Korea and the Cultural Heritage Administration proposed a repatriation amount of 4.2 billion KRW, reflecting the appraised value, to recover the Baekje Smile Bodhisattva in Japan. However, it is known that the Japanese owner hoped for approximately 15 billion KRW.

Regarding this, Assemblyman Lee stated that the Cultural Heritage Administration has expressed that it cannot execute payments exceeding the appraised value of 4.2 billion KRW, effectively halting repatriation negotiations. He said, "Chungnam Province has established a support ordinance for the repatriation of overseas cultural assets such as the 'Baekje Smile Bodhisattva,' budgeting 1 billion KRW this year and planning to create a fund of 6 billion KRW over the next three years. Buyeo County has also decided to raise 3.8 billion KRW through public donations."

He added, "Active administration by the Cultural Heritage Administration and the National Museum is necessary so that many of our cultural assets abroad can return to their homeland."

The National Assembly Cultural Heritage Foundation announced that as of April 1, 2020, there are 193,136 Korean cultural assets overseas in 21 countries. By country, Japan holds 81,889 pieces (42.40%), the United States 53,141 pieces (27.52%), China 12,984 pieces (6.72%), and Germany 12,113 pieces (6.27%), among others.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.