[Photo] Buddha from Baekje Kingdom

Considered one of the most beautiful sculptures in Korean art history, the whereabouts of a gilt bronze Buddha from the Baekje Kingdom that was unearthed in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, in 1907 have been confirmed for the first time in over 90 years. The Cultural Heritage Restoration Foundation informed The Hankyoreh on June 3 that a Japanese corporation revealed the Buddha figure to Professor Choi Eun-cheon of Dongguk University and Jeong Eun-woo of Dong-A University in Dec. of 2017 during a visit to Tokyo. The figure was one of two originally discovered by a farmer. It was then confiscated and auctioned off in 1922 by Japanese military police to a Japanese collector, who presumably took it to Japan and concealed it from the public eye. Members of the academic community are calling for the figure’s return to Korea. The other figure has since been recovered and designated National Treasure No. 293. (provided by the Cultural Heritage Restoration Foundation)

National Treasure No. 293