Issuance of Commemorative Stamps for Four Overseas Repatriated Cultural Heritages Including 'Gojong Hwangje Eosae'

Commemorative stamps featuring four types of cultural heritage repatriated from overseas, including the ‘Gojong Emperor’s Seal,’ will be issued.

The Korea Post (hereinafter referred to as KPost) announced on the 16th that on the 24th of this month, it will issue commemorative stamps featuring ▲ the Korean Legation in the United States ▲ the woodblocks of Cheokam’s collected works ▲ the Gojong Emperor’s Seal of the Korean Empire ▲ documents related to the late Joseon period’s militia.

Provided by Korea Post Headquarters

The Korean Legation in the United States is a building located in Washington D.C. that was purchased with Naetanggeum (internal funds) bestowed by Emperor Gojong. It was used as the Korean Empire’s legation to the United States from February 1889 until the Eulsa Treaty in 1905. In 2012, the Cultural Heritage Administration (then the Cultural Properties Administration) purchased it, and it is currently managed on consignment by the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation.

The woodblocks of Cheokam’s collected works are printing blocks of the collected writings of Cheokam Kim Dohwa (1825?1912), an anti-Japanese militia leader. These blocks were made around 1917 to print Cheokam’s collected works, and one of the approximately 1,000 blocks was repatriated after it was confirmed to have been auctioned in Germany in 2019. The repatriated block is held together with 20 identical blocks of the same collected works kept in Korea at the Korea Institute of Korean Studies.

The Gojong Emperor’s Seal of the Korean Empire is the national seal used on secret letters sent by Emperor Gojong to countries such as France, Russia, Germany, and Italy to resist Japan’s infringement on Korea’s sovereignty. It was purchased by the National Palace Museum of Korea in 2009 and returned to Korea. The seal was designated as a Treasure in the same year and is currently housed at the National Palace Museum of Korea.

The documents related to the late Joseon period militia consist of 13 documents including official letters, proclamations, messengers’ letters, and correspondence. They are composed in the form of two scrolls pasted together. These documents vividly capture the activities of the militia during the late Joseon period, including letters related to the 13 Province Righteous Army, the Japanese suppression of the militia, and the indomitable spirit of resistance against the oppression. These documents were purchased in Japan with lottery funds and returned to Korea in July last year. They are currently held at the National Palace Museum of Korea.

Provided by Korea Post Headquarters

The cultural heritage featured on the commemorative stamps is overseas Korean cultural heritage that has been recovered from abroad. Overseas Korean cultural heritage refers to heritage that left Korea due to theft, plunder, trade, gifts, and other reasons and is currently held overseas. As of the 1st of this month, it has been surveyed that approximately 240,000 pieces of overseas Korean cultural heritage are scattered across 29 countries worldwide.

The commemorative stamps can be purchased at nearby main post offices (in person) or through the internet post office.

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