The Administrative and Cultural Committee of the Chungnam Provincial Council paid a respectful visit to the Gilt-Bronze Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue at Buseoksa Temple and reviewed the repatriation efforts.
The Administrative and Cultural Affairs Committee of the Chungnam Provincial Council visited Seosan Buseoksa Temple on the afternoon of the 11th to view the 'Gilt-bronze Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Statue,' which was brought from Japan after 647 years and is currently enshrined temporarily at Buseoksa. The committee also discussed measures to protect cultural heritage that has been taken abroad.
The Gilt-bronze Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Statue of Seosan Buseoksa was created in 1330 (the 17th year of King Chungsuk of Goryeo) at Buseoksa but is currently housed at Kannonji Temple on Tsushima Island, Japan. Among the relics found inside the statue, which is believed to have been looted to Japan at the end of the Goryeo dynasty, the 'Gyeolyeonmun' contains an inscription stating 'Seoju (now Seosan) Buseoksa' and details about the circumstances of the statue's creation.
The Buseoksa statue was smuggled back into Korea in 2012, and a legal dispute over its ownership with Japan lasted for more than ten years. In October 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed the final appeal, confirming the decision to return the statue to Japan, and it is scheduled to be sent back in May.
The committee members received a report from Buseoksa officials on how the statue returned to Buseoksa, and exchanged opinions on future plans for its return and suggestions to be made to Japan, the country of restitution.
Park Kiyoung, chairperson (Gongju 2, People Power Party), said, "I feel very regretful about having to send back a precious cultural heritage that was originally ours," and added, "Our committee will continue to pay close attention to various efforts and activities to protect our valuable cultural heritage."
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