North Korea to Get Bukgwan Victory Monument

The Bukgwan Victory Monument (Bukgwan Daecheop Bi), seized by Japan and returned to Korea last October after 100 years outside the country, will be sent to North Korea in June.

Kim Sang-woong, the head of the Independence Hall of Korea, announced yesterday that relevant institutions decided to send the Bukgwan Victory Monument to North Korea in commemoration of the June 15 Joint Declaration at a recent National Assembly meeting.

“At the inter-Korean working group meeting, which will be held in Gaesong at the end of this month, we will propose our opinions on sending the monument and discuss the exact timetable and the location of the monument in North Korea,” Kim said.

South Korea is asking North Korea to put the monument in Gilju, Hamkyong Province, where it was originally located.

It was reported that North Korea is asking the South to send the monument before the March 1 Independence Movement Day.

“It takes about two months to transport the monument with a vibration-dampening vehicle,” Kim said. “North Korea’s timetable is technically unreasonable.”

The Independence Hall of Korea is planning to build a life-size copy of the monument and display it in the hall around the time when real monument is sent to the North.

Ki-Jin Lee doyoce@donga.com