A replica of a wooden ship that carried emissaries to Japan centuries ago has set sail from South Korea on a reenactment of those historical journeys.

The vessel carrying about 10 people left Busan on Tuesday for Nagasaki Prefecture's Tsushima Island to take part in a festival this coming weekend. Tsushima is located between Kyushu, one of Japan's main islands, and the Korean Peninsula.

The replica was built in 2018 by South Korea's National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage.

The vessel was later scheduled to visit Tsushima, but the plan was suspended as ties between the two countries became strained and in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Envoys representing the Korean dynasty of the time paid visits on 12 occasions during Japan's Edo era, which lasted from the 17th to the 19th century.

Hong Soon-jae at the South Korean institute called the visit historic. He said he is excited that their efforts are to bear fruit.

South Korean media are describing the journey as the first of its kind in 212 years.