• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.136-153
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• 2021

The restitution of cultural heritage located abroad has been going on for 107 years, starting with the return of the Jigwangguksa Tower to Beopcheonsaji Temple in Wonju after it was taken during the Japanese occupation in 1915. The Overseas Cultural Heritage Foundation, established in 2012, has laid the foundation for retrieval, preservation, restoration, and exchange of cultural heritage through research cooperation and the purchasing of cultural heritage items. The pace of the collection of cultural heritage objects and the locating of others has increased every year since its establishment, and the number of returned, rather than recovered, cultural heritage items has also increased. The present study aimed to complete a value inquiry of the cultural relics of Waryongmae (臥龍梅) and a restitution of cultural heritage as the main focuses. The process of recovering relics from Waryongmae has been recorded in the book The Cultural Property Returned into Our Arms, published by the above-mentioned foundation. This record was revised and supplemented to try and raise its cultural value by adding elaborate storytelling to the process of recovering the Waryongmae that grew in the courtyard of Changdeokgung Palace. The cultural value of Waryongmae is that it is unique. The Waryongmae is the first living cultural heritage, and therefore has cultural value due to its uniqueness. Second, the Waryongmae has unique cultural value due to its restitution and return to Korea twice, once in 1992, and another time in 1999. The first restitution was special in that it was featured by the Japanese media, and the second was special in that it was intensively reported by the Korean media. Third, 42 Waryongmae cultural content types were explored, including nineteen visual contents, eleven interactive contents, and twelve skate contents.