The remains of 20,000 noses of Koreans cut off as war booty by Japanese samurais have found a permanent burial ground after nearly 400 years.
The noses of Korean soldiers and civilians killed during the Japanese invasion in 1597 are to be buried next week near Puan on the southwestern coast, the national Yonhap news agency said Wednesday.Puan, a provincial city 135 miles south of Seoul, is where about 3,000 Korean soldiers were killed during the invasion.
Japanese soldiers were ordered to cut off the noses or ears of Korean soldiers to collect rewards, historians said.
The noses were found in 1983 by Kim Moon-gil, a South Korean professor, in Okayama, Japan, and brought back last year. They were cremated and kept at a temporary tomb until a suitable burial ground could be found.
The noses were salted before they were placed in a so-called "One Thousand Nose Tomb," which was 36 feet high and 13 feet in diameter, Yonhap said.