The National Library of France in Paris from April 12 to July 16 is holding the exhibition "Print! The Europe of Gutenberg." (Library's official Facebook page)

By Jung Joo-ri

Jikji Simche Yojeol, a Buddhist document that is the world's oldest surviving work printed with movable metal type, is on public display for the first time in 50 years.

The National Library of France in Paris from April 12 to July 16 is holding the exhibition "Print! The Europe of Gutenberg."

The book was first displayed in 1900 at the Korean Pavilion of the Paris Exposition and its second was in 1973 at the exhibition "Treasures of the Orient" held at the library. The latest exhibition is the work's third display.

On its website, the library said, "Jikji has rarely been presented to the public due to reasons of care and preservation."

The document's official title is "Baegun Hwasang Chorok Buljo Jikji Simche Yojeol" (Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests' Zen Teachings). Two volumes of this scripture are known to have been produced in 1377, the third year of the reign of Goreyo Dynasty King U, at Heungdeoksa Temple in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. The first no longer exists while the second is in France.

Jikji came 78 years before the Gutenberg Bible, which in 1455 was the first book in Europe printed with movable type. In 1972, UNESCO's International Year of the Book, the scripture was introduced and recognized as the world's oldest surviving documented printed with metal type. 

The second volume is known to have been collected in Korea from 1896-99 by Victor Collin de Plancy (1852-1922), France's first minister to Joseon (Korea's former name). After his death, the scripture went through auctions and was eventually donated to the French library in 1950. 

Highlighting human printing technology, the exhibition displays the woodblock Bois Protat, Europe's oldest surviving woodcut images from circa 1400, and the Gutenberg Bible in addition to Jikji.

Jerome-Cecil Auffret's documentary "Jikji, a Journey to the Time of the Written Word" will make its premiere on April 18 to commemorate the exhibition. After the screening, the director and Laurent Hericher, general curator and head of the library's Oriental Manuscripts Department, will host a meeting on the significance and value of Jikji. 

This is the promotional poster for the exhibition "Print! The Europe of Gutenberg" at the National Library of France in Paris. (National Library of France)