파리 소재 외규장각 도서 반환 협상의 문제점

Abstract

Ever since the Seoul National University had filed an official request of the

return of the Wae-Kyujanggak materials currently located in France in 1991, the

Korean public's interest in their own cultural artifacts and properties currently in

the hands of other countries(such as Japan and other nations, etc.) has

considerably increased. And as a result, a general consensus demanding the

return of such materials was established.

The negotiations with the French representatives to retrieve the Wae-

Kyujanggak materials had initially brought us some positive results. An

agreement was reached regarding the procedure of permanently renting the

materials and thus opening a new chapter of cultural trade relationship between

the two countries. And France regressed from its initial position requiring from

Korea only age-old book materials for the trade, and newly agreed to receive

other forms of cultural artifacts or even cultural artifacts of another countries

(such as Japan, China, etc.) instead.

Yet Mr. Han Sang Jin, the head representative of the new negotiation team

dispatched in 1999, and also oddly unaware of the achievements of previous

negotiations, conducted negotiations twice in October 2000 and July 2001 in

which he agreed with the French representatives on terms of trading materials in

exactly equal nature. That is to say, a new agreement, dictating that Royal...