German monastery returns ancient armor to S. Korea

SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- A German Benedictine monastery on Wednesday returned a piece of old armor to South Korea as a token of cultural cooperation between the two countries, museum officials here said.

The armor was made public during a donation ceremony at the National Palace Museum of Korea (NPMK) in Seoul. The armor from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) is believed to be made at least before the 18th century.

The artifact is believed to have been taken out of the country sometime in the 1910s or 1920s by the late Archabbot Norbert Weber, who visited Korea for months in 1911 and 1925, the NPMK officials said.

Since then, the relic, made of cotton, steel and leather, has been kept at the Mission Museum of Saint Ottilien Archabbey in Eresing, near Munich. The museum currently holds some 1,700 other Korean artifacts.

The Mission Museum has judged the preservation of the armor is not easy in Germany, although its value is so immense, Father Theophil Gaus, head of the museum, said at the ceremony.

Earlier, the German museum gave back a picture scrapbook of painter Jeong Seon, a botanical specimen and a family register, all dating back to the dynasty, to the country, the officials said.

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