South Korea welcomed the return Saturday of nearly 300 royal books looted in the 19th century by invading French soldiers.

South Koreans dressed in court costumes from the Joseon Dynasty paraded the 297 volumes to central Seoul's Gyeonbok Palace.

The richly illustrated books detail protocol for royal ceremonies during the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled the Korean peninsula from 1392 to 1910.

French troops raided a royal library on an island off Korea's west coast in 1866 and hauled away hundreds of manuscripts.