A late 19th-century wooden signboard that once graced the Seonwonjeon Hall at Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul / Courtesy of Korea Heritage Service

A 19th-century wooden signboard that once adorned the now-lost Seonwonjeon Hall at Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul has returned from Japan after a century away from home.

In December 2023, the Korea Heritage Service (KHS) and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation first discovered that this royal Joseon-era relic had surfaced at an antique auction house in Fukuoka, Japan. With the financial backing of Riot Games, the government agencies successfully secured its return, bringing it back to Korea in February 2024.

After relevant research and restoration, the artifact will make its public debut at the National Palace Museum of Korea adjacent to Gyeongbok Palace on Feb. 27.

Measuring 3.12 meters in length and 1.4 meters in width, the signboard is believed to have been taken from Korea in the 1930s during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45). It bears the inscription "Seonwonjeon" in golden Chinese characters against a lacquered black background.

A close-up view of the signboard for Gyeongbok Palace's Seonwonjeon Hall / Courtesy of Korea Heritage Service

During the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty, the Seonwonjeon Hall within major royal palaces served as a sacred space where portraits of past kings were enshrined and memorial rites were performed.

The first Seonwonjeon was erected at Gyeongbok Palace in 1444 but was burned to ashes in the wake of the Japanese invasion of Korea (1592-98). More than two centuries later, in 1868, King Gojong oversaw its reconstruction as part of a broader effort to restore the war-ravaged palace.

However, in the 1930s, the hall was dismantled once again, with its materials repurposed to build Bakmunsa, a shrine dedicated to Ito Hirobumi, Japan's resident-general in Korea. Today, the Seonwonjeon Hall remains lost, though plans for its restoration are set to begin in 2030, once the National Folk Museum of Korea, currently built on the site, moves to Sejong City.

The recently reclaimed signboard is believed to be the original from Seonwonjeon's 1868 reconstruction. Its calligraphic inscription was written by Seo Seung-bo, a high-ranking official of the time, as documented in "Seungjengwon Ilgi" (Diaries of the Royal Secretariat).

Following its public unveiling at the National Palace Museum, the artifact will be preserved and managed by the museum. Given its historical significance as a work of artistry that blends architecture, calligraphy and craftsmanship, it is expected to be featured prominently in future exhibitions, the KHS stated.