French Academics Urge Return of Korean Library

A group of French intellectuals have joined forces to urge their government to return historic Korean texts looted during a botched invasion of Korea in the late 19th century, according to Martine Prost, professor of Korean studies at University of Paris VII -- Denis Diderot on Wednesday.

About a dozen academics including Vincent Berger, the president of the University of Paris VII, Jacques Legrand, professor of Mongolian language who presides the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations, in April formed a group that supports France's returning the Oegyujanggak royal archives to Korea and its membership is growing, Prost said.

Prost was a cultural attache at the French Embassy in Seoul when then-president François Mitterrand visited Seoul in 1993 and promised the return of the archives. "It has been generally believed that there is only opposition to the return of the Oegyujanggak in France, and I wanted to let people know that different opinions exist here," she said.