DISCOVERY OF LOST STATUE

[Anchor Lead]

The East Watch Tower located in the middle of a road close to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Gwanghwamun used to be connected to the fence of the palace. But after the fence was removed during the Japanese colonial rule, the staircase and a statue that used to guard the tower disappeared. Recently, the statue was discovered in a quite unexpected place.

[Pkg]

The East Watch Tower stands in the middle of a road southeast of Gyeongbokgung Palace. The structure used to be adjacent to the fence of the royal palace. This black-and-white photo taken during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea shows its original form. The fence was destroyed by the Japanese in the late 1920s.

[Soundbite] HONG SUN-MIN(PROF., MYONGJI UNIVERSITY) : "The Japanese held a large exhibition behind Gyeongbokgung Palace. They expanded and repaired nearby roads. That is probably how the East Watch Tower ended up separated from the palace."

When the fence was destroyed, the staircase of the East Watch Tower disappeared. A stone sculpture that used to guard the tower at its entrance was also gone. Recently, the sculpture was found in a very unexpected location. Officials from the Cultural Heritage Administration discovered it near the office of Changdeokgung Palace while surveying the stone sculptures of ancient royal palaces. They concluded that the sculpture was the one that disappeared from the East Watch Tower nine decades ago, as it looks identical to the stone sculpture of the West Watch Tower.

[Soundbite] LEE JUNG-YEON(KOREA CULTURAL HERITAGE ADMINISTRATION) : "When compared with the sculpture in the photo, its patterns and overall shape look clearly identical."

The Cultural Heritage Administration plans to restore the fence of Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was vandalized by the Japanese, and bring the stone statue back to where it belongs.