Contrary to popular belief, the first printing press was invented in Korea, not by Gutenberg. The Koreans used a movable cast metal printing press to print Jikji, long before Gutenberg’s Bible was printed in the 1450s.

Jikji, short for ‘Jikji Simche Yojeol’ — meaning ‘Essential Passages Pointing Directly to the Mind’ — is a collection of Buddhist treatises, laws, and scriptures. It was printed during the Goryeo Dynasty by Buddhist monks who were disciples of Master Baegun. UNESCO recognized Jikji as the oldest extant metalloid type of printed text in 2001. The only surviving copy is in the National Library of France.

Printing in China and Korea dates back to the 8th century AD. During the Goryeo period, Korean Buddhist monks undertook the arduous task of printing the Tripitaka Koreana, a massive collection of Buddhist scriptures, using meticulously carved wooden blocks.

This effort was driven by the monks' desire to invoke Buddha's protection during times of invasions by the Khitans and Mongols. The wooden blocks, which numbered over 80,000, were cured and preserved using sophisticated techniques and are still intact today at Haeinsa Buddhist Temple in southwest Korea.

The process involved soaking the birchwood blocks in seawater for three years, boiling them in saltwater, and exposing them to the wind in the shade for another three years before carving. The blocks were then polished with an insect-repellent lacquer and stored in a well-designed depository at Haeinsa Temple, ensuring their preservation to this day.

Jikji’s journey to France began in the late 19th century when Victor Collin de Plancy, the French consul in Seoul and an avid art collector, acquired several hundred ancient Korean books, including Jikji. He sold Jikji to Henri Vever in 1911, who bequeathed it to the National Library of France in 1950. Jikji is rarely displayed, with its most recent public viewing in 2023.

This remarkable book highlights an important aspect of East Asian, particularly South Korean, history that has often been overlooked.