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| yna@yna.co.kr 2026-05-08 15:00:30
SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- A royal signboard inscribed with the handwriting of King Sunjong and a set of Joseon-era tomb tablets have been returned to South Korea from Japan through private donations, officials said Friday.
The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation said it recently received donations of the "Sunjong Yeje Yepil Signboard" and the "White Porcelain Blue-and-White Tomb Tablets of Yi Jin-geom" and brought them back to Korea.
The phrase "yeje yepil" refers to writings personally composed and handwritten by a crown prince or royal heir.
The wooden signboard containing a text written by Sunjong during his years as crown prince is believed to have been produced around 1892. Measuring 124 centimeters wide and 58 centimeters high, it is thought to have been created for a royal banquet held at Gyeongbok Palace.
The signboard is decorated with carved dragon and phoenix heads. The inscription was engraved in relief on a wooden panel, with the background painted black and the lettering in green.
"The format reflects a high-ranking royal signboard," the foundation said. "Painting the lettering in green is a rare example and is considered to symbolize the importance of the text."
The inscription was written during a grand royal banquet held at Gyeongbok Palace from Sept. 24 to 26 on the lunar calendar in 1892 to celebrate the birthday of Queen Myeongseong and the longevity of King Gojong and the queen.
At the time, Sunjong, then crown prince, wrote a message expressing wishes for the long life of his parents.
The text also appears in "Jinchan Uigwe," a royal protocol documenting late Joseon court banquets, and "Sunjong Eoje Gonseong Hongryu," a collection of writings composed by the crown prince and court officials during the 1892 banquet.
The signboard, believed to have once been kept at the royal palace, surfaced at an auction in Japan in 2024. Kim Kang-won, head of the Japanese antique art dealer Cheonggodang, purchased it and donated it to the foundation.
The circumstances under which the signboard was taken to Japan remain unknown.
The "White Porcelain Blue-and-White Tomb Tablets of Yi Jin-geom," which returned together with the signboard, were discovered at an antique art dealer in Tokyo by Kim Chang-won, the older brother of Kim Kang-won.
Tomb tablets are stone or ceramic records buried with the deceased that describe their life and achievements. They are considered valuable historical materials for studying the era in which the individual lived.
The set consists of 10 porcelain tablets inscribed in blue lettering on a white background and contains records related to Yi Jin-geom (1671-1727), a civil official who served as minister of personnel during the late Joseon Dynasty.
Based on an inscription on the final tablet, the artifacts are believed to have been produced in 1745.
The text was composed by Yi Deok-su (1673-1744), who also served as minister of personnel, while the calligraphy was identified as the work of Yi Gwang-sa (1705-1777), the son of Yi Jin-geom and one of the most renowned calligraphers of the late Joseon period.
Foundation officials said the calligraphy on the front side of the tablets was particularly notable because it was written in the clerical script style, a rare example among Yi Gwang-sa's surviving works.
Kim Kang-won, who has made four cultural heritage donations since 2021, said he believed the royal signboard should be preserved at Gyeongbok Palace as an artifact of the Joseon royal family.
Kim Chang-won said cultural heritage can fully reveal its value only when preserved in its rightful place, adding he wanted to share Yi Gwang-sa's calligraphy with the public.
The Korea Heritage Service and the foundation plan to present plaques of appreciation to the donors.
Park Jeong-hye, chairperson of the foundation, said the organization will continue efforts to support the research, preservation and public use of overseas Korean cultural heritage through such donations.
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