The Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned a late-18th century Buddhist painting, *The Tenth King of Hell* (1798), to the Sinheungsa Temple in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, South Korea. The work is believed to have been taken by U.S. troops during the Korean War. The repatriation was celebrated at a ceremony in Seoul attended by Met Director and CEO Max Hollein, Korean government officials, and religious leaders. The painting is part of a larger series of ten scrolls depicting the Ten Kings of the Underworld; three remain abroad, while six others previously at LACMA have already been returned.
This restitution is the latest under the Met's Cultural Property Initiative, launched in 2023, which has accelerated returns to Greece, Turkey, and Iraq. The case highlights growing global momentum for heritage repatriation and the need for coordination across cultural, governmental, and religious sectors. The Met has also strengthened its provenance research team, signaling a broader institutional commitment to addressing the history of looted artworks and returning them to their communities of origin.