The Korean manuscripts that ended up in Paris’s Bibliotheque Nationale have now returned to Korea. Agreements have also been made for the return of various artefacts held by Japan.

From:
Art Daily

Korean Royal Books Looted by French Soldiers in the 19th Century Get Colorful Welcome
Friday, June 24, 2011
By: Kelly Olsen, Associated Press

SEOUL (AP).- South Korea celebrated the return of nearly 300 royal books looted by French soldiers in the 19th century with solemn ceremonies Saturday bringing alive the color and pageantry of a bygone royal age.

Bearers dressed in bright red costumes of the Joseon Dynasty carried a palanquin containing some of the books to central Seoul’s Gyeongbok Palace to the piercing sound of traditional horns and gongs.
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Despite protests that the return should not even be considered, negotiations are now ongoing between France & Korea to sort out the details of the return of manuscripts from the BNF.

From:
Digital Chosun ilbo

France, Korea Begin Negotiations on Return of Looted Books
Arirang News / Dec. 08, 2010 11:23 KST

Talks over the return of Korean royal texts looted by the French Navy in 1866 have begun, a month after President Lee Myung-bak and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy struck an agreement on the transfer.

The Korean Embassy in France announced on Tuesday that follow-up discussions began last weekend, amidst an expected backlash from French political conservatives and curators at the National Library of France.
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