Stealing a stolen Buddhist statue

Artist Hahm Kyung-ah held a sensational exhibition “The Museum Display” at Arts Sonje Center in Seoul in 2009. She exhibited odds and ends including coffee cups and pepper shakers in large glass display cases that can be found in museums. She brought them secretly at hotels and cafes in other countries and honestly speaking they were stolen goods. She said she wanted to ask what differences there are between exhibiting goods stolen by an individual and proudly presenting cultural assets that developed countries stole during war or through looting.

The movie “Woman in Gold” is about a real story of a Jewish descendent who claws back Gustav Klimt’s "Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer (1907)" owned by the Austrian government. The heiress of the original owner of the portrait took back the painting held by the Belvedere Museum in Vienna after eight years of a lawsuit and left a new ruling. The portrait is now in the Neue Galerie in New York after being auctioned off at a record of 135 million dollars in 2006.

Returning a cultural asset is a sensitive issue for both the country that stole it and the country that lost it. The Korean court ruled on Thursday that the Buddhist statue that a group of Koreans stole from a temple in Tsushima, Japan in 2012 and brought it to Korea must be returned to the original owner, the Buseok Temple, in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. “It is estimated that the Buddhist statue is sufficiently recognized as the belonging of the Buseok Temple based on arguments and on-site inspection,” the Daejeon District Court said. “Given the historical and religious values, the occupant of the statue has an obligation to deliver it to the Buseok Temple, the plaintiff.” The Japanese government expressed a serious regret.

The statue of issue is estimated to have been stolen by Japanese before 1526 after being made in Seosan during the Goryeo Dynasty in 1330. While some argued we should return the statue because it was stolen, others argued why we need to return it because it is ours in the first place. However, the court recognized the ownership of the Buseok Temple. What is concerned is how the international community might think of us if we do not return the stolen good of the 21st century for the reason that it was looted 500 years ago. If this is accepted, museums around the world will be in chaos. It may take a long time but we need to follow international practices when it comes to redeeming cultural assets.