This paper examines changes in the characteristics and systems of Japanese conservation projects for stone pagodas in Gaeseong, North Korea during the Japanese colonial era by focusing on the official documents and gelatin dry plates housed at the National Museum of Korea. A Japanese survey project on historic remains in Korea was undertaken as a practical investigation attempting to improve the understanding of the then-present condition of historic remains in the early colonial period. It led to the smuggling into Japan of a number of stone cultural properties, including the Stone Pagoda from the Gyeongcheonsa Temple site, or their exhibition at expositions or museums. Conservation projects for historic remains were carried out in a systematic manner after the Regulations on the Conservation of Historic Remains and Relics were enforced in 1916. The Stone Pagoda from Gyeongcheonsa Temple site was returned to Korea. However, the return of the Gyeongcheonsa Stone Pagoda was conceived as reinstituting an asset of colonial Joseon and displaying it at a museum rather than as a repatriation of cultural heritage. In 1918, the Japanese Government-General of Korea brought back to Korea numerous fragments and elements of the Gyeongcheonsa Stone Pagoda from the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum (present-day Tokyo National Museum) and attempted to facilitate the restoration of the pagoda within the precincts of the Japanese Government-General Museum. It also attempted to place the restored pagoda in front of the Japanese Government-General Museum as a trophy of the Japanese Empire. Due to technical difficulties, however, the Japanese Government-General failed to complete this restoration.
The division of roles between the central and local government offices was clarified in the mid-1920s. Accordingly, conservation projects for historic remains became gradually more systemized and detailed procedures were emplaced. After a provincial governor or county magistrate surveyed damaged cultural properties and reported them to the Japanese Government-General of Korea, it was required to pay the costs for repairs. When it was necessary to relocate an important cultural property, the Japanese Government-General dispatched an on-site survey committee to undertake the project. As a case in point, the Stone Pagoda from the Heungguksa Temple site demonstrates the procedures for a conservation project. During its survey on historic remains, the Japanese Government-General discovered a need for conservation of the pagoda and relocated the pagoda from a private estate to the Gaeseong City Museum. Conservation documents created in and after the 1930s contained the contents of a report, details and costs of conservation, specifications, designs, floor plans, and photographs. The Japanese Government-General shared such detailed information with local government offices while the conservation work was in progress. The Seven-story Stone Pagoda disassembled and damaged in 1937 at the Hyeonhwasa Temple site is a classic example that shows the full process of a conservation project carried out by the Japanese Government-General and Gyeonggi-do Province. The conservation projects for stone pagodas in Gaeseong during the Japanese colonial era produced fruitful outcomes by maintaining designated cultural assets and preparing measures for responding to the risk of damage. On the other hand, these projects allowed stone cultural properties to be relocated or scattered under the pretense of conservation.