Link: Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea.
Just read about this in the current ish of Variety - though it actually happened last month. I've been watching a lot of Korean films lately, via Nicheflix, and have found a few gems... it would be amazing if this turns out to be legitimate, though it seems a bit of a leap of faith.
Collector’s Death May Free Long-Lost Korean Classic Film
TOKYO - The death of a Japanese film collector could yield vital clues to the whereabouts of a surviving copy of director Na Un-gyu's classic 1926 film "Arirang", believed lost in the Korean War.Abe Yoshishige, 81, died Wednesday at a hospital in Osaka, Japan. Beginning from the time his father was a police officer in colonial Korea, Abe had been an avid collector of films from the periods before and after the Pacific War, becoming almost legendary in Japan.
Before he died Abe, who had collected about 50,000 films, claimed to have a copy of the silent movie. This has never been confirmed, but he did show documentary director Chung Su-ung and a reporter from Japan's Mainichi Shimbun a list of the films in his possession. According to the Mainichi report, No. 55 in his East Asian films collection is listed as, "Arirang/nine volumes/modern play"...
The 50,000 films collected by Abe, who died without an heir, have reverted to the Japanese government.
The collector had refused to allow experts to inspect the films while he was alive... Abe stalled by making contradictory promises to return the film "if North and South Korea agree,” "if the two Koreas unify," and "if the president formally asks the emperor to return the film."