The Bukgwan Victory Monument (북관대첩비, Bukgwandaecheopbi in Korean: ) is a stone stela commemorating a series of Korean military victories between 1592 and 1594 against the invading army of Japan during the Seven-Year War. It was subsequently taken to Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. It eventually discovered on the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, prompting a Korean outcry that it be returned. In a ceremony on 12 October 2005, it was turned over to officials from South Korea, who plan to return it to its original location, which is now in North Korea. The Korean name is commonly translated as great victory at Bukgwan. Stele is also a concept in plant biology. ... Events January 30 - The death of Pope Innocent IX during the previous year had left the Papal throne vacant. ... Events February 27 - Henry IV is crowned King of France at Rheims. ... The Seven-Year War was the conflict from 1592 to 1598 on the Korean peninsula, following two successive Japanese invasions of Korea. ... Greater Manchuria, Russian (outer) Manchuria is region to upper right in lighter Red; Liaodong Peninsula is the wedge extending into the Yellow Sea The Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) was an extremely bloody conflict that grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of Russia and Japan in Manchuria and Korea. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Students at Yasukuni The main building of Yasukuni Shrine The Yasukuni Shrine (lit. ... Long a symbol of Tokyo, the Nijubashi Bridge at the Kokyo Imperial Palace. ... Jump to: navigation, search October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Creation

The Seven-Year War resulted from two Japanese invasions, in 1592 and 1597. The Koreans and their Chinese allies drove back the invasion but the bitter war was a disaster for the country. During the initial invasion, Korean general Jeong Mun-bu formed a volunteer army that won eight victories between 1592 and 1594 against an army of 20,000 Japanese led by General Kato Kiyomasa in the Hamgwallyeong Pass area of Hamgyeong Province. The Seven-Year War was the conflict from 1592 to 1598 on the Korean peninsula, following two successive Japanese invasions of Korea. ... Events January 30 - The death of Pope Innocent IX during the previous year had left the Papal throne vacant. ... Events 17 January - A court case in Guildford recorded evidence that a certain plot of land was used for playing “kreckett” (i. ... Statue of Kato Kiyomasa in front of Kumamoto Castle Katō Kiyomasa (加藤清正, Katō Kiyomasa, July 25, 1562-August 2, 1611) was a daimyō during the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods of Japanese history. ... Hamgyŏng (Hamgyŏng-do) was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. ...

In 1607, King Sukjong ordered the creation of a monument commemorating the victories. The 187 cm tall and 66 cm wide stela has 1500 Hangul letters detailing the actions of the volunteer army. It was erected in Kilju County, North Hamgyeong Province, where it stood for the next three hundred years. Events January 20 - Tidal wave swept along the Bristol Channel, killing 2000 people. ... Sukjong of Joseon ruled Korea from 1674 to 1720, the nineteenth ruler of the Joseon Dynasty. ... Hangul (한글) is the native alphabet used to write the Korean language, as opposed to the Hanja system borrowed from China. ... North Hamgyŏng (Hamgyŏng-bukto) is a province of North Korea. ...

Movement to Japan

During the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, much of the Korean peninsula was under the occupation of the Imperial Japanese Army. The monument, located at Immyeong Station, came to the attention of Major General Ikeda who was stationed in the area. Apparently displeased by it, he allowed Lieutenant General Miyoshi to take the monument home to Japan. It was placed in a Japanese imperial museum before being moved into the forest upon the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine, a Shinto shrine honoring Japan's war dead. There it stood in obscurity for three-quarters of a century, forgotten by both the Japanese and Koreans. Greater Manchuria, Russian (outer) Manchuria is region to upper right in lighter Red; Liaodong Peninsula is the wedge extending into the Yellow Sea The Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) was an extremely bloody conflict that grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of Russia and Japan in Manchuria and Korea. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Imperial Japanese Army (大日本帝國陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official armed force of Japan from 1867 to 1945. ... Jump to: navigation, search Students at Yasukuni The main building of Yasukuni Shrine The Yasukuni Shrine (lit. ... Shintō (Japanese: 神道) is the native religion of Japan. ...

In 1969, Choe Myo-myeon, the director of the International Institute of Korean Studies in Tokyo came across the monument. In the meantime, Yasukuni Shrine had become a focus of controversy after several Class A war criminals of the Second World War had been honored there. Many Koreans were outraged to learn that a Korean victory monument over a Japanese invasion now stood on the grounds of a Japanese shrine seen as commemorating the militarism that had caused immense suffering in Korea. Jump to: navigation, search 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday For other uses, see Number 1969. ... Long a symbol of Tokyo, the Nijubashi Bridge at the Kokyo Imperial Palace. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Negotiations

Despite requests by the South Korean government and civic groups that the monument be returned, Japan refused, stating that doing so violated their principle of "separation of religion and politics" and that as the monument originally stood in what was now North Korea, South Korea was not in the position to negotiate its return. National motto: 널리 인간 세계를 이롭게 하라 Translation: Broadly bring benefit to humanity Official language Korean Capital Seoul Largest city Seoul President Roh Moo-hyun Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 108th 99,274 km² 0. ... Jump to: navigation, search The separation of church and state is a concept and philosophy in modern thought and practice, whereby the structures of state or national government are proposed as needing to be separate from those of religious institutions. ...

The deadlock was finally broken in December 2004, when Buddhist monks from North and South Korea agreed to work together to retrieve the monument. South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae Chan and North Korean president of the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium Kim Yong Nam to discuss the issue at a meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia in April 2005. This led to further talks at the 15th inter-Korean Cabinet-level meeting in Seoul. These talks marked the return of the monument as a major issue of inter-Korean cooperation and removed the Japanese objection about their confusion due to a divided Korea, leading to their agreement to return the monument. ← - 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in December • 30 Artie Shaw • 29 Julius Axelrod • 28 Jacques Dupuis • 28 Jerry Orbach • 28 Susan Sontag • 26 Reggie White • 26 Sir Angus Ogilvy • 23 P. V. Narasimha Rao • 23 Doug Ault • 19 Renata Tebaldi • 16... Jump to: navigation, search A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE... The Prime Minister of South Korea (국무총리 ; Gukmuchongni) is appointed by the President of South Korea with the National Assemblys approval. ... Kim Yong Nam (born 1928) is a North Korean official. ... Motto: Jaya Raya (Indonesian): Prosper and Great Founded 22 June 1527 Governor Sutiyoso Area 661. ... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in April • 26: Augusto Roa Bastos • 24: Ezer Weizman • 23: Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen • 23: John Mills • 16: Marla Ruzicka • 9: Andrea Dworkin • 6: Prince Rainier III • 5: Dale Messick • 5: Saul Bellow • 2: Pope John... Jump to: navigation, search Seoul (서울, listen ( ♫)) is the capital of South Korea and is one of the most populous cities in the world, located in the northwestern part of the country on the Han River. ...

On 12 October 2005, a brief ceremony attended by priests of the shrine, representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officials from the embassy of South Korea was held at the monument to turn over control. South Korea plans to briefly display the monument in Seoul before being returned to North Hamgyeong Province in North Korea. Jump to: navigation, search October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (外務省; gaimu-sho) is one of the ministries of the Japanese government. ... Jump to: navigation, search Seoul (서울, listen ( ♫)) is the capital of South Korea and is one of the most populous cities in the world, located in the northwestern part of the country on the Han River. ...

External links

• Retrieving of Historical Monument, Bukgwandaecheopbi, KBS News
• Yasukuni monument returned to S Korea, Japan Today, 13 October 2005
• Kilju / Kilchu / Kisshu / Gilju, globalsecurity.org