hifco magazine ver. 1 _eng

Published by HIFCOwww.hifco.or.kr

The organization do not claim any right for pictures used in the magazine.Publisher: Do Eon Lee, Ye Yun Lee, Soon Myeong Yoon

HIFCO_최종종합본_English.indd 1-48 2010-12-14 오전 12:56:06

목차 Contents

4-5 Neglected but True Name, East Sea 6-7 Dokdo 8-9 Gando

10-13 The Northeast Project 14-15 Nanta

16-17 Talchum, Satire in Motion

18-22 History of Joseon Dynasty’s Five Palaces

24 The Gyeongju Historic Areas with the 1000-year-old History of Shilla Dynasty

25 Korea, the Kingdom of Dolmens 26 Suwon Hwasung 27 Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes

28 Korean History Breifing: Gaya 29-30 The Last Roman in Northeast Asia

31 First Impressions of Joseon 32 Resistance against Mongolia

33 Learn from the Past 34-35 Five Kings of Joseon

36-37 Party Politics Now and Then

40 What It Takes to Make People Care

39 Passion of Korean

42-43 South Korea Seen Through the Eyes of a German

44-45 The Oldest and the Best

41 Historical Crisis, Korean Crisis

46 Final Remarks

38 Korean Diaspora

HIFCO_최종종합본_English.indd 2 2010-12-14 오전 12:56:20

ForewordThere was a typical high school student.

She was neither special nor especially talented, but she had the courage to ask one question: “Would you like to correct the Korean history with me?”

That was the beginning of HIFCO, now with about 450 members worldwide.

Greetings to everyone. My name is Do Eon Lee, the founder and current president of HIFCO, which stands for Historical Fallacy Correcting Organization.

I was rather skeptical when I started HIFCO in the summer of 2009. No matter how important our history is, I wondered how many students who are busy with college prep would care for an optional course, the history of Korea. That summer, I only dared hope that a dozen students would like to join.But today more than 400 Korean students throughout the world are members of HIFCO. At first, it was mainly high school students who joined the organization; now the members range from elementary to college students. I have realized my worries were need-less and have gained hope that things will be better.

Already six years have passed since I started to correct historical fallacies through email in VANK. It was not easy to correct what was already mistaken. Foreigners did not know Korea properly, and worse, the world did not know Korea very well.

Few years ago, many Koreans talked about this joke: when Koreans go abroad, foreigners first ask us “Are you Japanese?” If we answer no, they ask again, “Then are you Chinese?” If we reply no again, they would finally ask, “Then where are you from?”

Although Korea has world-famous corporations, the fact that many foreigners are uninformed of Korea was heartbreaking. Moreover, such little acknowledgement of us would surely be a weakness of us in a global society. So we decided to make a publication that properly informs people about Korea.

In this publication, we are going to describe Korea’s history and the cultural heritage that beautifully enrich our country. Our goal is to inform more people about Korea, where six to seven millions of foreign tourists come every year. We believe we should not only correct our mistaken history but also actively inform foreigners about us.

Just as I bravely asked the question that established HIFCO, I now bravely announce these words: I wish more people would have interest in Korea. I wish more would notice the beauty of the millennia-old Korea and view this land as a country they must visit during their lifetime.

HIFCO’s current goal is to correct Korea’s history, but our final goal is to work with all students worldwide to es-tablish the truth of history.

Just as people can truly respect themselves after establishing their identities, people can love their country and others after establishing their true history. We believe that truly established history is the way we can live with re-spect toward one another.

History is not just a simple fact of the past. History is our present and the driving force to the future. Every mo-ment will also become another part of history that will maintain our future someday. From now on, we would like to show you the past and present of Korea, which will introduce more about us. Let us start our story even though it is not enough to include all of Korea.

Thank you.

Do Eon Lee


Neglected but True Name, the East Sea

D o you know the name of the sea between the

Korean peninsula and Japan? Japanese will an-

swer “the Sea of Japan”, and Koreans will answer “the

East Sea”. Two nations are still are in confrontation with

each other with the right name for this Sea. Japan holds

that many people are already using the name “the Sea of

Japan”, while Korea claims that “the East Sea” has been

used more in history, and adds that this term may be jus-

tified by the fact that this sea is situated at the east end

of the continent.

What is right? : The East Sea, not the Sea of Japan

Korea and Japan’s conflict is mainly on what they should

call the sea between them. Japan insists “the Sea of Ja-

pan”. They claim that it’s been used since the late 18th

century. Furthermore, they say refutations about the

name, on the first place, are incorrect.

However, they are mistaken. According to various

historical materials, we can see the term “East Sea” has

been used for a long time. King Kwang Kae To’s grave

stone erected in the period of the Three States, Sin

Jeung Dong Kuk Yeo Ji Seoung Lam’s( Joesun Dynasty’s

anthropogeographic book written in 1530) map of the

entire eight provinces, map of Yeongnam region made in

1740, map on North-East made in the mid-18th century,

Korean overall map of Yeo Ji do(a map going over gen-

eral information) made in the late 18th century all wrote

“the East Sea” between the two countries. In contrary,

“the Sea of Japan” was first seen on Kunyu Wanguo

Quantu which was made in 1602. In addition, the Society

for East Sea Research opened an international seminar

on the name of the East Sea at Shanghai, China. They

have reviewed 407 western old maps throughout the

16th century to the 20th century, and as a result, 298 of

these maps (73.2%) marked “East Sea”, while only 109

(26.8%) were marked “the Sea of Japan”. “The East Sea”

was used much more longer and widely than “the Sea of

Japan”.

Considering international customs, the “East Sea” has

more validity. Presently, names of seas are decided by

the nearby country. Then how should it be named? The

North Sea is a case in point. For the English and Ger-

man, the sea is situated south, but for the general north

Europe, it is situated north. Because the sea is placed

north of the continent the “North Sea” was selected.

In 1902, Japan claimed the used of “the Sea of Japan” at

the IHB(International Hydrographic Bureau). If we ap-

ply this case, naming the sea, located in the east of the

Continent, the “East Sea” is appropriate. Some insist the

‘sea of Corea”, which is seen in many western historical

maps, but as well considering international customs, this

is also not suitable. Therefore, not by the view of certain

nations, but by the view of the Continent of Asia, “East

Sea” is the proper name.

Then why does the world call the East sea the Sea

of Japan? The powers tried to invade Joseon preceding

imperialism. Among the powers, Japan had the hold on

Joseon in 1910, and Korea has suffered from the fall of

becoming Japan’s colony till 1945. During the Japanese

colonial period, Japan made a public statement about

the name of the Sea as the Sea of Japan. And today

IHO(International Hydrographic Organization) an-

nounces a rule of deciding names of oceans issuing a

publication “Limits of Oceans and Seas”. However this is

a unilateral declaration of Japan disregarding the fact that

the sea has been continuously called the East Sea.

In this respect, the sea between Korea and Japan should

explicitly call the East Sea. Japan is simply trying to hide

the truth to take possession of the sea.

Fraudulent Claims of JapanPresently, Japan has 4 fallacious grounds supporting

their Sea of Japan.

First, 95% of the world is already using this name,

therefore confusing them is not right. However, we

should be aware that this is one of the brutalities Japan

has committed in the past. It was Japan that confused the

world by changing the widely used name East Sea to the

Sea of Japan. And now we are trying to rectify the injus-

tices.

Second, the term Sea of Japan has been used in the

western from the late 18th century to the early 19th

century and that it was not coerced by Japan. Deciding

the name of the sea considering thoughts of far western

By Suk Joon Jang

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countries than reflecting the opinions of the neighboring

Koreans is not only violating the equality, but also runs

counter to the principle of considering the name origi-

nally used by the residents when making maps.

Third, the name is given because of the position of Ja-

pan, placed through the Pacific Ocean, not that they are

not claiming any ownership. There hasn’t been any case

naming the sea after an island that just runs through the

ocean. Instead, in these cases it’s proper to name the sea

after the situation from the continent.

Lastly, UN has accepted only the Sea of Japan. United

Nations Secretariat is the solely organization using the

name Sea of Japan, however this is only for convenience

and the UN has said it is incorrectly written. On the

contrary, looking into ‘standardization of Geographical

Names Council UN” passed in 1977, when to neighbor-

ing nations do not agree on the designation of place, it is

to use both names as a rule. Under this circumstance, we

cannot say that the UN only conceded the ‘sea of Japan”.

The Importance Designation

Some may not consider the name of the sea impor-

tant. However, the problems related to the name have

a great meaning to Korea and Japan. The name ‘sea of

Japan” may imply that Korea gives the ownership of to Ja-

pan. Also, East sea does not mean the east of the Korean

peninsula but the east of the Continent of Asia. Using

the term Sea of Japan as well denies the Korean history

that used the right name. By this as a foundation, other

distortions of history may continue. Calling it the East

Sea is our effort to protect the truth of history.

International Strifes Related to the “East Sea”

As explained before, conflict between Korea and Japan

about the right designation has started in 1929. at the

time, Japan had taken away Korea’s diplomatic, legisla-

tive rights and judicial power. After depriving Korea’s

diplomatic rights, Japan announced the name of the sea

as Sea of Japan at the IBO (International Baccalaureate

Organization) ignoring the fact that the East Sea has

been used widely. Though, Korea could not do anything

about this for their loss of diplomatic rights. Later, in

1957, Korea joined the IBO and started to argue that the

East Sea is the right name since the 1970s. In 1974, IBO

suggests using both expressions but Japan refused. In

1992, North and South Korea raised objection the name

‘sea of Japan” in a matter of government at the 6th Stan-

dardization of Geographical Names Council UN”. Korea

brought up this problem at the 7th and 8th UN meeting

but Japan refuses Korea’s negotiation to prevent it be-

coming a matter of international issue. However by the

endeavor of Korea’s refutation, it has eventually become

an internationally known problem. In addition, Korea has

made several efforts by making promotion brochures for

the name of East Sea in 2007 and 2009, and uploading

promotion videos on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and

Trade’s homepage.

Majority Sea of Japan,But Increase of Co-writing

Regrettably, the Sea of Japan is still used more com-

monly worldwide. Worldly known magazine TIME wrote

solely Sea of Japan on the map on the reporting of the

Cheonan Ship Issue of August, 2010. Also, CNN has

written only Sea of Japan through the process of report-

ing the news of North Korea’s seizure of Daeseung of

August 8th. Most of the departments of the American

government solely write the Sea of Japan as well. This

shows most of the world doesn’t know the sea’s true

name.

However, we see a positive change. According to

Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in 2000

only 2.8% of the word wrote both East Sea and Sea of

Japan(research from Japan), in 2005 it rose to 10.8%(re-

serch from Japan), and in 2009 (reserach from Korea)

it increased to 28.07%. In addition, well-known search

engine Google’s 3D map program provides both names.

Though it is a pity that a map with East Sea solely written

is very rare, this positive movement is a great meaning,

by showing that this issue is internationally being known.

East Sea, the sea between Korea and Japan, has come

this far without its true name. The East Sea is still waiting

to be called by its original name. Now, we should bring

more attention to this issue. Though the co-writing is be-

ing accomplished, there is only one truth. With historic,

geographic approach, and with the view considering in-

ternational law, the only conclusion we can reach is “the

East Sea.” ■5 4 5

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DokdoBy Kyung Hyun Mhin

T he Dokdo controversy is a hotly contested issue that has led to rising tensions between Korea and

Japan. However, the matter is only lightly touched upon in Korean textbooks, though it shows up

often enough on the evening news. Therefore, it is to no great surprise that not many people are inter-

ested in Dokdo. In this article, I will introduce three topics that may spark your interest in this problem.

Usando, which is commonly known as Dokdo’s former

name, was once actually the name of the neighboring island

Ulleungdo. However, when its official name became Ul-

leungdo, Dokdo was named inherited the name Usando. Usan

means “high mountains” in the language of Goguryeo, one of

the Three Kingdoms of the Korean peninsula.

During the Chosun dynasty, the names Sambongdo and

Gajido were also used alongside “Usando.” Sambong means

“three peaks” and “gaji” means “many seals.” After the late

19th century, Dokdo’s name changed to Seokdo, because of

its rocky façade. Although the island now has the official name

Dokdo, the inhabitants of Ulleungdo still refer to it as “Dok-

som” and “Dolsom,” which are literal Korean translations of

Seokdo.

The official name Dokdo was first used by Governor Shim

Heung Taek of Ulleungdo, in 1906. The name Dokdo uses the

hanja 獨 (dok, meaning alone) and 島 (do, meaning island).

However, it does not really mean “lonely island.” The name

‘Dokdo’ originated from a mispronunciation of “Dolsom,” or

“rock island,” by early settlers from Jeolla-do.

As you can see, Dokdo has various names, Now, let’s move

on to our second topic, ‘Protectors of Dokdo’.

Changes in Dokdo’s name

Kangchi ( Japanese Sealion)Do you remember that one of Dokdo’s old names is “Ga-

jido”? This name comes from Kangchi’s original name. This

shows that Dokdo was teeming with Kangchis during Chosun

dynasty. Today, black-tailed gulls represent Dokdo. Black tailed

gulls are an endemic species of Northeast Asia. In Korea,

there are 3 reservations for them, including Dokdo. However,

many people don’t know about the other animals living on

Dokdo, such as Kangchi. Kangchi, or Japanese sealions, were

thought to be extinct until a few years ago. This was proven

false when they were found living near Dokdo in 2009. Now

that Kangchi are back in Dokdo, we should try to save them

from disappearing again.

In the 19th century, there were about 3 to 5 million Kang-

chis on Dokdo. However, during the Japanese colonization of

Korea, many were killed for their leather and oil. This is the

reason why no Kangchi were found for the last few decades.

Kangchi has finally returned home after 33 years and this time,

we must protect them from becoming extinct again.

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Do you know anyone who protected Dokdo? Most people

mistakenly believes that only An Yong-bok tried to protect

Dokdo. However, there are many more who have tried to

protect it. Here I will talk about four of the best.

The first person I would like to introduce is Yong-bok An.

The way he tried to protect Dokdo is almost like a movie.

Mr. An was an ordinary fisherman during the Joseon dynasty.

His life took a turn on one fateful day. While fishing at Ul-

leungdo in 1693, he got into a dispute with some Japanese

fishermen. He and his coworkers were captured and taken to

the Japanese island Houki. While he was there, he asked the

governor of Houki to ban Japanese fishermen from fishing on

Ulleungdo. The governor of Houki wrote Mr. An a document

stating Ulleungdo was not a territory of Japan. However, the

document was taken from him when he reached Tsushima. In

1696, he found Japanese fishermen fishing at Ulleungdo again.

After he evicted them, the fisherman went to Houki to make

clear the fact that Ulleungdo and Dokdo were part of Joseon

and ask the governor to ban the repeated border violations.

At his request, the governor of Houki promised that if anyone

violated the border again, they would be severely punished.

Through his work, the Tokugawa shogunate ordered that

no one was to violate Ulleungdo’s borders. Also, in 1877,

the Meiji government of Japan declared that Ulleungdo and

Dokdo were part of Joseon's territory.

During king Kojong’s rule, Lee Gyu-won, a military officer

born in 1811, worked to protect Dokdo. When the Japanese

entered Ulleungdo and cut trees without permission in 1881,

the government appointed Mr. Lee as the inspector of Ul-

leungdo. After his report that Japanese people were making

signposts and cutting down trees, the government immediate-

ly sent a letter of complaint to Japan and started development

on Ulleungdo. Thanks to his activities, “the island vacating

policy” that has been carried out for 400 years in Ulleungdo

was annulled, and Ulleungdo was developed.

Thirdly, Hong Sun-chil gave his heart and soul to protect-

ing Dokdo during the 20th century. On Ulleungdo, Mr. Hong

found a signpost with the words 島根縣隱岐郡竹島on it in

1952. After his discovery, he decided to protect Dokdo. He

recruited discharged soldiers and formed the Dokdo Royal

Defense Team. They first landed at Dokdo in April of 1953.

Mr. Hong leaded the Dokdo Royal Defense Team through

numerous battles against Japan. Also, in 1953, he carved the

“Hankuk-ryung” on the East Island of Dokdo to let everyone

know that Dokdo is a part of Korea’s territory. But his work

didn’t stop there. He even found drinkable water on the island

and set up the Korean flag on the summit of Dokdo. He con-

tinued his “Keep Dokdo Green’”project until he passed away

at the age of 57. Due to his activities, Dokdo remains Korea's

territory.

Finally, Choi Jong duk was the first person to become an of-

ficial resident of Dokdo. When the Japanese claimed Dokdo’s

dominium in 1980, he registered as a resident of Dokdo to

prove that there is a Korean living in Dokdo. He lived there

for 22 years during which he worked to make Dokdo a better

place for the rest of the people. ■

The Four Protectors of Dokdo

Referencewww.dokdo.gov.kr

Naver EncyclopediaMaeil Daily

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S ince China’s attempt to entail Korean history into its

own (Dong-buk-gong-jeong), Koreans began to pay

closer attention to Northern territories, especially Gando.

But most Koreans still do not know much about the area.

These are even those who take Gando as an island, a mistake

that can be attributed to the name ending in –do, a suffix

often used in names of islands. Gando is not an island, it

refers to the area right above the Doo-man River and Ab-

lok River. Because the Korean people immigrated mainly to

North(East) Gando rather than West Gando, North(east)

Gando began to be called Gando, and the North of Ab-lok

River, West Gando.

Initially, Gando was a no-man’s land by an agreement be-

tween Joseon and Qing Dynasty (Gang0do-gui-maeng),

where entrance was barred. As a result, Gando was neglect-

ed without clear concept as to which country it belonged

to. It was a time when an area, instead of a line, acted as the

border, and no-man’s land or land barred term entrance did

the job.

In 1712 (Suk-jong 38), Qing sent Mok-geuk-dong, to settle

the border between Joseon and Qing. It was then that the

Mount Baek-du Stone was erected, upon which instated that

the border is to be Ab-lok River in the west, and To-mun

River in east. But the name To-mun is no longer used, leading

to disputes between Korea and China. Korea sees To-mun

River as upper Song-hwa River, while China sees it as today’s

Doo-man River.

Before Joseon was stripped at its diplomatic power, Joweon

and Qing Dynasty had numerous talks, all of which ended in

failures because of Qing Dynasty’s unreasonable demands. In

the Japanese occupation period that followed, Japan and Qing

Dynasty made the Gando Agreement, setting the border as

Doo-man and Ab-lok rivers.

Gando Agreement is inherently invalid. Under international

laws, any agreement by a country that took another country’s

sovereignty by states that China and Japan nullify any agree-

ment or treaties before December of 1941, also leads to the

conclusion of Gando Agreement’s invalidity. Unlike a theoreti-

cal belief that Korea can put the Gando Agreement on inter-

national Court of Justice of August of 2009, 100 years since

the making, such prescription is not definite and should there

be clear evidence, demand for territory can still be made af-

ter 100 years.

Despite Gando Agreement invalidity, Korea found no time

to tackled the issue as it passed through a tumultuous his-

tory. Moreover, even if Gando Agreement should be nulli-

fied, Gando does not automatically get transferred to Korean

sovereignty , Korea and China must establish a new border in

the conditions before the agreement.

Why We Want Gando Back

1) Gando is the birthplace of our people.

The region of the Gando area where Mount Baekdu,

the Song-wha River, and Heuk-ryong River meet is, as the

birthplace of the Korean people, of utmost importance.

Note that the site of Goguryeo’s old capital is in the West

Gando area, along with Balhae’s in North Gando. Further-

more, out of fifty thousand years of human inhabitation,

only for a mere five centuries was Gando the Han people’s

domain. The Koreans, ruled it for millennia.

2) Gando is historically, culturally, economically, geographically,

and legally the territory of Joseon.

As the birthplace of the Korean people, the Gando area

has served as of our people for thousands of years. Even

after the Chinese Qing dynasty declared it a no-man’s land,

our people cultivated it. That Gando was a part of Joseon

became fact after the no-man’s land was dissolved.

Why Gando belongs to KoreaFirst, numerous maps depicting the Joseon-Qing border

prove that Gando is the territory of Korea.

Jean-Baptiste Regis, a French mapmaker, writes, ‘East Of

Bong hwang seong lies the border with Joseon.’ Many maps

of the period, such as Map of Mt. Baekdu Stone’ and ‘Papal

Map of Late Joseon Dynasty Joseon’ show East Gando to be

east of the Tomun River, spanning the area between Bong

hwang seong district north of the Aplok River and the val-

leys. From this data, we can deduce that such borders were

maintained at least until 1909 when the Gando Agreement

was signed.

Second, we were first to cultivate the land.

Gando was not allowed to enter according to Gang-Do

GandoBy Lee Je In

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league between Joseon and Qing, and it was a condominium.

Even if Qing settled Gando as off-limits territory, there is no

landlord because Qing prohibited their people from access-

ing the area. According to Sector Principle, we can assert that

Gando is our territory as we cultivated Gando earlier than

Qing.

Thirdly, Joseon exercised de facto administrative authority.

Joseon administratively incorporated North Gando into

Hamgyeong-do in 1903 and West Gando into Pyeonganbuk-

do in 1909. Later on, the government levied taxes from

residents and appropriated them as administrative costs and

training budget. The facts demonstrate that the administrative

authority of Joseon governed Gando equally.

China’s North East Project and Sovereignty Dispute of Gando

China’s North east Project is national research project which

studies the problems of North-eastern districts’ history, geog-

raphy, and ethnic groups. Currently, we regard it as an attempt

to incorporate Goguryeo’s history into Chinese history; how-

ever, a number of domestic experts claim that the purpose of

North east Project is related to sovereignty dispute of Gando.

They say that China tries to deter the division of minority

races and secure the sovereignty of Gando by incorporating

history before the unification of North and South Korea. Fur-

thermore, they prudently analyze that China is attempting to

claim the sovereignty of North Korea in case of North Korea’s

collapse.

According to professor Seok-Hua Kang of Kyung-in College

of Education, the power of the project is huge-scale invest-

ment in research, and the core of the sovereignty dispute is

whether the research is advanced or not. He also points out

that we lack the case study and countermeasures for real

disputes in spite of the advancement of research upon injus-

tice of Gando agreement and preemptive rights. Therefore,

domestic experts assert that the government should lead

the research project in terms of changing issue. The central

organization equipped to plan and manage is needed as we

should establish long term strategy which is directly related to

national interest.

What should we do from now on?First and Foremost, the government should directly raise

the issue of Gando. The fact that the Korean government

has raised the issue consistently acts as an important base

whenever we renegotiate over the issue. It is internationally

accepted that the nation which occupies the problematic

territory acquires the priority over the dispute unless the

government refers to the issue officially. That’s why Japanese

government sends official documents referring Dok-do issue

to Korean government every year. Therefore, the government

should consistently raise the Gando issue and seek for peace-

ful settlement of the issue.

Furthermore, the government should concern for Korean

people in China living in Yanji City. The residents’ opinion

could be an important variable in terms of the sovereignty dis-

pute. Currently, Yanji City’s population is declining upon 40%

of the whole population, and the autonomous region could

be extinct in 10 years. Therefore, the deterrence of breakup

of Korean people in China and the instillation of national

consciousness is urgent and critical. Scholars should study up

on the history of Gando, while citizens should be concerned

about the issue. ■

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W hat does the word ‘historical distortion’ remind you of? For many Koreans, it reminds them of Japan’s illegal claim

over Dok-do, and shameless publish of false information on its school textbooks. History is indeed the matter of

the past. However, people must realize that there are some, who tries to bend the truth to fit their taste and needs. And it is

tragic that a government itself is trying to bend, not even their own, but other countries’ histories. At the moment, Japanese

government is hampering with our history, to divert their people’s attention. Apparently, Japan is not the only country that

seems to settle its own troubles by causing another one elsewhere. China, Korea’s gigantic neighbor, is trying to keep its minor

races in place by erasing or fixing their history. However, the powerless minor races have no choice at all. Thus, the project

hadn’t much problem proceeding. However, the problem arose when China started distorting Korea’s history. The project

name: Northeast Borderland History and the Chain of Events Research Project. It became a problem because it claims that

much of Korea’s northern countries were actually Chinese.

東北工程By Kim Myung Sun

The Northeast Project

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Northeast Project and Korea’s Misunderstanding

1)夏商周斷代工程 (Xia Shang/Yin Zou Chronology project)

The project’s purpose was to identify the exact timeline of China’s supposedly first three ancient coun-

tries of the Yellow river civilization. They gathered 200 experts of various fields, and dug out just what

they needed, and precisely calculated the age for them. From their researches, the Chinese have claimed

that their first dynasty was in fact Xia, and that it was founded on 2070BC. However, only after the Qin

period, were there trustable remains. Having these researches as their basis, the Chinese began another

project.

2)中國古代文明探原工程

This project literally means to research the origins of ancient Chinese cultures. Why did they start an-

other project although they already defined their ‘First Dynasty’? It is because they have found an older

civilization. In the late 1980’s, they found a Neolithic civilization around the Liao-ho (a river at Northeast

China). That was the problem. Liao-ho was never part of ancient Chinese territory. Around the Liao-ho

lived the Ye-mek(濊貊) people, whom the Chinese considered as barbarians. As a matter of fact, the Ye-

meks are the ancestors of the Korean people. So, the confused Chinese decided to expand their historical

regions to the regions they are ruling now. And this project’s unreasonable hypothesis was followed by the

Northeast project.

Many Koreans who first heard of the project through the mass media, and never studied themselves, be-

lieve that China is trying to make Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms that dominated Manchuria, part

of their history. To say, it is worse than that. The whole point of their projects is to instill the thought that

the Han-people are superior to the minor races, and keep them obedient. So what the Chinese scholars

did was simple. They claimed that the Ye-mek people were actually Chinese! This eventually means that

the Koreans are descendents of china.

3) The Purpose of Northeast ProjectThere are mainly three purposes for the project. The first reason is keeping the ‘Joseon people’ under

control, by taking away their link to their home world. The ‘Joseon people’ are likely to experience strong

confusion of their national identity. This may lead the people to defy China’s will, which China is trying to

avoid. The second reason China gives is that they must know about Korea, in case North Korea falls. If

Korea gets unified, it is obvious that it’ll cause a big ripple to the world. Should North Korea fall, then the

Chinese will run their tanks over the peninsula, claiming that they are brothers of North Korea. Third,

China wants stability with in the country. China has many minor races. If one exception sprouts, so will the

others will claim their rights.

4) Main Concepts of Northeast ProjectAs mentioned above, the purpose of Northeast project is to sever the links the ‘Cho-seon people’ can

make with the Koreans. So they claim that Goguryeo is part of Chinese history, and has nothing to do with

the Koreans. Hence, are the relics and cultures of Goguryeo is Chinese.

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Chinese perception of GoguryeoChina defines Goguryeo as provincial government of east China. Thus, the ‘Joseon people’, who live in the same

area, becomes part of Chinese history. China gives the following reasons. First, they claim that Goguryeo was a direct

province under the Han’s authority. They add that Goguryeo’s area stayed within the 漢四郡(Four provinces of Han

dynasty), and that China and Goguryeo kept sovereign-subject relationship. Second, after the fall of Goguryeo, they

say, most of its people dissolved into Han’s society, and others moved into barbarian territory.

The biggest problem with China’s claim is that it is not even coherent. At the beginning, it claims that Goguryeo’s

history, before it moved its capital into the peninsula, belongs to China. And then China says that most of the people

happened to have ended up in China, claiming Goguryeo is China’s history again.

Denying Korea’s Succession of GoguryeoThe main point of Northeast project is that Korea has nothing to do with Goguryeo. They claim that the es-

tablishment of the country had nothing to do with the Koreans, because it was done by the ‘Bu-yeo’,’Ok-

jeo’,’Yemek’,‘Han(漢)’,’Seon-bi’ and ‘Suk-sin’. However, all these people, except for the Hans, constitute the early Korean

people. And they all mix up to be the Korean people. So it is nonsense that these people has nothing to do with the

Koreans, and rather have more kinship with the Chinese. They also deny the political and cultural succession of Go-

reyo to the Koreans. They even claim that the founder of the Goryeo dynasty is actually Chinese.

Problems of Northeast ProjectSince when did people use the concept of Nation, as in ethnic group? Would have emperor Qin declared that he

united a Nation, of single ethnic groups, as he united the shattered pieces of the Zhou dynasty? Would have the Chi-

nese felt guilty for killing its own race during the Spring-Autumn and Warring states period? The whole concept of

Nation was only introduced in the modern era. Nationalism tends to manifest more vividly when the Nation is under

attack. As a matter of fact, Nationalism stared when Napoleon stated invading other countries. For Asian countries,

Nationalism was developed when the Western worlds started colonizing their territories. China adopted the idea of

nationalism not so long ago. Then is it rational to think that all the Nations and their cultures that lie within the ter-

ritories of China should be named after China? The Chinese scholars have are setting a view of history that fits their

taste. With this despicable view, they are bending the truth.

The idea of territory and race of the past is different from those of ours. However the Chinese are outlining the his-

tory of the past with the territory of today. It can only be interpreted as an extension of pre-modern POV, the Hwa-

Yi view(華夷觀), to the modern world. The Hwa-Yi view is very similar to imperialism. The view regards Chinese

culture as the only culture that should exist and that other cultures must be obliterated. China’s attempt of forcing its

cultural imperialism to the field of history must be stopped.

Was the founder of Goguryeo, Go Ju-mong, Chinese?

China claims that Go Ju-mong’s surname name derives from the Go-ui tribe of the San-dung area. However the

surname ‘Go’ was a name Ju-mong named himself, after his own country, Goguryeo. His original surname was Hae,

Korean for the sun, and is one of the eight major surnames of Baek-jae, which is one of the Three Kingdoms. It is non-

sense that Go Ju-mong is a Chinese descendant.

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Was Goguryeo a Chinese Provincial Government?China claims that Goguryeo was a mere provincial government because it sent annual tribute to China. However,

such tributes are now interpreted in another way. Rather than admitting China as the leading country, it is more like a

form of public trade. Besides, almost all countries around China paid their tributes to China. In the same sense, every

country, including two other countries of the Three Kingdom, not only Goguryeo, is China’s provincial government.

It is more like the two countries accepted each other as neighboring countries, like a pope would accept kings of Eu-

rope. Such tributes are better understood as a diplomatic method.

When a central government falls, it is likely that the provincial governments fall together, or help revive the central

government. However, Goguryeo, Baek-jae, and Shilla all outlived at least a dozen of Chinese governments, and none

of the kingdoms has ever lamented about it (To add, the Japanese helped Baek-jae when the government fell. This

means that Koreans had more influence on Japan than the Chinese or Japanese had on Korea)

There were two notable wars between China and Goguryeo. One happened between Goguryeo and Sui (598-614),

and another between Goguryeo and early Tang (645). In both wars, Chinese dynasties have sent millions of soldiers

to Goguryeo, only to be painfully defeated. However, the Chinese government claims that these weren’t wars but a

minor conflict with the provincial government. What kind of country sends millions of its soldiers to settle a problem

with its subordinates? The number is just outrageously huge for subjugating. Besides, the Sui dynasty fell because it has

spent too much energy on Goguryeo.

China claims that Goryeo has not succeeded Goguryeo, even though the name of the dynasty itself was named in

homage of the Kingdom, since the Goguyeo’s mainstream leaders did not resurrect the Dynasty. Well, the same logic

can be applied to China as well. Actually it undermines China’s national legitimacy more than it undermines Korea’s.

The vast land of China wasn’t always led by the Han people. Liao dynasty was founded the Khitans, Jin dynasty by the

Jurchens, Yuan Dynasty by the Mongolians, and Qing by the Manchus(or Jurchens). These dynasties were not founded

by the Han people. They have no ethnical relation with the Hans what so ever. This states that, using China’s own

point of view. History of China is a history of constant severance.

Succession

Goguryeo first appears in the book “삼국지 위지동이전(Samgukji Uijidongyijeon.” Chinese put ‘서(Seo)’ or ‘본기

(Bohn-gi)’ when they record the history of their own. On the other hand, they put ‘열전(Yeol-jeon)’ for other coun-

tries histories, which implies that the Chinese considered Goguryeo as a separate country.

Goguryeo in Chinese history books

Apparently, the Emperor of China is the only person who is allowed to hold celestial rites. However, Many Korean

tribes held their own celestial rites. If the Koreans were indeed China’s subordinates, the Chinese wouldn’t have let it

happen. However, as a separate government, the Koreans were able to give their own rites.

Celestial rites

EpilogueThe Northeast Project is finished. However, China’s historical distortion has only begun. As the project is over, they

will use it as a basis to mold people’s thought to fit their taste. “Manchuria is historically our land, Goguryeo is our his-

tory, and the relics belong to us, because their ancestors were the Hans.” Dear readers! We shall not be deceived by

their false theories. They shall not be allowed to bend the truth to keep their greediness fulfilled be. We shall not let

them their Chinese imperialism to sacrifice minor races’ cultures, and histories. A TV teacher in China lamented that

almost all of the Chinese history the Chinese are learning are biased. For everyone on the face of the earth, this dis-

tortion must be stopped. 1213 13

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C hefs wearing white cooking hats appear onstage and start moving to the rhythm. Kitchen knives and cooking pans have become tools

for making the most exciting Korean rhythms. The excitement spreads quickly through the air, and the audience finds themselves

moving to the beat.

This time, we interviewed Seung Hwan Song, the representative of PMC Production. We invite you to the world of Korean culture and-

Nanta.

By Do Eon Lee

NANTA

Q: Tell us briefly about the history of Nanta.Nanta first performed in 1997 at Seoul Ho-am Art Hall. Two years later in 1999, we did our first performance abroad at the

Scotland Open Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Many foreign promoters became interested in Nanta and that was the start of our many

performances abroad.

Q: What inspired you to create Nanta?Well, we wanted to perform a Korean performance abroad. It was our desire to make Korea a culture export country.

Q: Tell us how you created Nanta.It took one year just for planning, and another 6 months to practice.

As I have told you, our main goal was to perform abroad. So the biggest problem was language. We decided to use no language,

making it easier for people to enjoy it universally. But then we faced another problem: we would have no sound onstage. While look-

ing for a solution, we decided to feature traditional Korean music and rhythms in our performances. We believe that every country

has its own rhythm and for Korea, it was the rhythm and sound of Sa-Mul-No-Ri.

Q: How did people react to Nanta’s performance abroad?Nanta has performed in 250 cities located in 30 countries, receiving encores in every city it has performed in—overall, it is doing pretty good.

Before our first performance in Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we changed our performance to make it more universally friendly. We even

worked with a producer from Broadway. We thought that even though Korea’s uniqueness could act as a merit, Nanta needed a more univer-

sality to make it into a global performance.

That is why you can find “universal” stuff in Nanta. For example, the show is set in a kitchen with the chefs wearing white clothes. Though

there are differences throughout the world, we focused on the widely known appearance of kitchens and clothes. We believe that this univer-

sality is the base of Nanta’s fame.


We give our thanks again to Seung Hwan Song, the representative of PMC Production, for answering our questions.

Q: What are some misunderstandings about Korean culture?First of all, it is a pity that there is no definite image of Korea. For example, France has the Eiffel Tower, Japan has hot springs and

Australia has the Sydney Opera House and kangaroos. On the other hand, the first things that comes to foreigners’ minds when it

comes to Korea are the Korean War and its division. It is a shame considering that Korea has a unique and wonderful culture.

However, it feels great to know that the Korean wave has brought a good image of Korea to the Asian market. For example, the K-

pop concert held in Bangkok Stadium was sold out in 3 hours and many Korean soap operas have created a good image for Korea.

Though America and Europe still haven’t been affected, the fact that our culture is becoming more widely known is definitely a great

sign.

Q: Then how should we proceed spreading the Korean culture?We have to let go of our obsession to spread only historical Korean culture. When I was young, I didn’t listen to folk songs—

I learned about the English culture through Beatles and Queen songs. So maybe we should try to spread our mass culture, music,

movies and soap operas. I am not saying that we should not introduce foreigners to our traditions. That is a must but we should fo-

cus more on spreading our mass media for now. Wouldn’t that make Korea a more interesting subject to talk about?

Q: Why do you think the West doesn’t know much about Korea?First of all, in textbooks or books Korea is not introduced in detail. Even if it is introduced, all they talk about is the Korean War.

The fact that there are no references in museums or libraries is also a huge problem. I think that the biggest reason this happened

is because Korea has not introduced itself politically thus making it unable for the Western civilizations to get to know about Korea

thoroughly,

And another problem is that our culture industry has not been developed enough. But the government is making various efforts

to solve that problem, so I think that will improve soon.

Q: Do you have any other ideas to spread Korea out to the world?We are currently preparing another piece with an An-dong Ha-hwai Tal motif. We can see various mask cultures in different

countries around the world, but masks with delicate beauty, lively expressions, and vivid characters only exist in Korea. So we have

decided to spread our culture through this Tal. This September we will start performing in An-dong.

Q: Tell us more about the future of Nanta, the leading group in globalizing Korea.60 to 70 million foreigners visit Korea every year. And 5~6 million of them watch Nanta. But I hope to see 10 million of them

watching Nanta. By watching Nanta, foreigners will be able to learn more about the culture of Korea, the way our ancestors worked

merrily, playing and working together through music and dancing.

Also, it would be wonderful to see an official Nanta center abroad.

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배경 이미지 저작권 (c) 날공장

By Myung Sun Kim

노승취발이춤

Talchum, Satire In Motion

Q. First, can you tell us briefly about the history of this Talchum?Talchum dates back maybe two centuries. Tal artifacts themselves, the masks used in Talchum, from even prehistoric times

have been found, but they grew into their present shape only under the regional influence of China and Japan throughout

the Three Kingdoms and Goryeo eras. In the Joseon dynasty, there was even a specific governmentoffice, Sandae-dogam,

that was devoted to managing the practice of Sandae-nori, a form of Talchum.

Talchum has four main themes that appear in every version of the performance. First, the exorcism of unfriendly spirits.

Second, the satirical criticism of the yangban, or scholar caste. Third, disharmony among a man’s many wives. Last, criticism

of dishonest Buddhist monks. Talchum was able address many social problems of the Joseon dynasty. Behind the safety of

a mask, the performers could speak their minds freely. Many of the lines involve Chinese proverbs, which were not readily

available to the general public. This leads usto believe that many Talchum cast members were Suja, sons of mistresses, who

were discriminated against in yangban society.

It is a hallmark of Korean culture that we “dry our

tears with laughter.” Met with bad luck, sadness, or

pain, we face it down, holding fast through the monu-

mental nightmares by wielding the gift of comedy. The

tears glinting in our eyes? Why, we must have laughed

too hard, of course—and see, they’re gone, with naught

but a blink, the snatch of a hand. The epitome of this

satirical cultural spirit is, of course, our topic for today:

Talchum. We met Ms. Baek Eun Sil, expert and Korea’s

designated 34th Intangible Cultural Heritage, and learned

about Talchum’s past, present, and inevitable future.

Q. Tell us about Talchum today.Today, Talchum is designated a National Cultural Heritage, and there exist thirteen major forms of it across the country.

Each version has its own distinct colors. Of these, only three remain in South Korea. Perhaps the northern provinces had

more cause to put on Talchum shows, what with the border with China. We don’t know.

Q. So your specialty is Gangryeong-talchum. Tell us about that. Gangryeong-talchum is a specialized form of Talchum. Unlike other forms, which mainly focus on dance, it is like a musi-

cal in that it holds song, dance, and acting in equal importance. It was begun by a professional entertainer, which is why it

is more sophisticated than other Talchum. Gangryeong is a coastal town. This is reflected in the dance’s blend of energetic

and subtle movements. Gangryeong is today part of North Korea, which has no ideological need for cultural history. All

that’s available to us is what we have here in the South.

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미얄할미춤

Q. How did we keep it alive when North Korea couldn’t?It was mainly the hard work of Lee Du Yeon and President Park Jeong Hee. Lee, an elderly scholar, asked the president

for and received funding to recreate the practices of Talchum and Pansori. It is really a great relief that he succeeded.

Q. Why did you begin to study Talchum?It was largely the influence of my mother, herself a National Cultural Heritage. She would teach others to dance and I

would tag along. It was really just a learning-conducive environment.

Q. And you like it too, right?Like I’ve said, Gangryeong’s version of Talchum is highly professional. I have a lot of respect for those who have worked to

keep it alive and well in this time and age.

Q. How do Koreans view Talchum?First off, Tal are seen as something unique and interesting. The masks themselves are something of an art form, after all.

But look closer and Talchum is a clever satire of the Joseon era. It’s the reason why it deserves to be preserved: in Talchum,

the Korean spirit lives on.

Q. How can we work to keep Talchum a living part of Korean culture?That is the task we are faced with.

Final Remarks from Ms. Baek

The problem is that the media focuses mainly on

Western culture. Before kids get to know Korean music,

they’re already listening to hip-hop and rap. Rap’s true

origin is Talchum, but of course nobody knows that. The

point is that we know so little about our own traditions.

Only when we leap that hurdle can Talchum live on.

Thank you.

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By Katrina HyunJin Choi In Hae Bae

History of Joseon Dynasty’s

Five Palaces

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France is famous for its palace, the Versailles. In China, there is

the Forbidden City. What is famous in Korea? There are five palaces

of the Joseon Dynasty. These palaces are not only unique but also

beautiful that they make great contributions in promoting Korea.

The five palaces represent the Joseon Dynasty. Gyeongbok Pal-

ace was the official palace where the royal family lived. Changdeok

Palace is the designated cultural Heritage of Korea. Changgyeong

Palace is the symbol of filial piety. Lastly, Deoksu and Gyeonghui Pal-

ace hold the sad history of Korea.

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경복궁 근정전

경희궁 숭정문

김정호 | 수선전도

Gyeongbok Palace Taejo, the Founder of Joseon Dynasty hoped all people

of Joseon would respect the Country and be loyal to all kings.

He wanted to show them dignity of Joseon. Finally, he built

the Gyeongbok Palace, the first official palace of Joseon. The

name means ‘wish the huge luck’.

It it said that Taejo had put a lot of effort in building the

palace. Gyeongbok was important because not only was it

the first official palace, but also because it symbolized the au-

thority of the King. In addition, the palace was where the king

had taken care of the national affairs. 8 Kings before the war

between Joseon of Japan ruled the country in this palace.

The gate of the palace is ‘Gwanghwamun’. Passing

through this gate, you can see ‘Geunjeongjeon’, the main

building of the palace where official events were held. In

front of the buildings are nine stones on each side. Vassals

were assigned to one stone according to their position.

Gyeonghui PalaceGyeonghui Palace was a palace of the crown prince in the

late Joseon dynasty, built while the period of Gwanghaegun,

15th king. The place was originally Prince Jeongwon’s, 16th

king Injo’s father, house but was taken away and was replaced

by the palace because of a rumor of the land having some

energy of a king’s. It was also called as the West Palace for it’s

west position of the city but not in the way Changdeok and

Changgyeong Palace was called the East Palace.

Gyeonghui Palace was used as the palace for the crown

prince for 10 generations, from Injo, 16th king, to Cheoljong,

25th. Especially, it is passed down that Yeongjo had stayed

there for the half of his reign. About a hundred buildings

were placed in the Palace, but were moved by Heungseon

Daewongun when Gyeongbok Palace was rebuilt.

Gyeonghui Palace’s troubles started as the Japanese built

Gyeongseong Middle School for their children inside the pal-

ace during the Japanese colonial period changing many of the

land in the process of placing the ground right. Many seal en-

gravings were sold to other offices and the gate of the palace

was ripped off to be used as the door of the shrine praising

Ito Hirobumi. It’s even said that the Japanese made an under-

ground bunker under the King and Queen’s chamber. Gyeon-

ghui Palace only remains its place without any reconstruction

holding on to the pain of history.

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경운궁 중화전

창경궁 경춘전

Changgyeong PalaceChanggyeong Palace was built by Seongjong, the 9th king.

He built it for his grandmother, aunt and mother in 1483.

Though it was connected to Changdeok palace, both were

used independantly.

Changdeok Palace was also burnt during Japan’s inva-

sion. Though they rebuilt the palace after the war, many

buildings in the palace were destroyed. Now there are only

one building and two gates left. These remains of the palace

show the architectural style of the 17th century Joseon.

Since the palace was built as the living place loyal fam-

ily, Changgyeong Palace was more comfortable and relaxing

compared to the other palaces. Also, there are many stories

about the loyal family, since they lived there. Many well-

known stories about them like ‘Jang Heebin’, ‘Crown prince

Janghun’ took place there.

Deoksu Palace (Gyungun Palace)

Sunjo, 14th king, came back to Seoul after evacuating to

Uiju during the Japan Invasion. However there was no palace

for the king to live for Gyeongbok, Chungduk, Changyeong

Palace were all burnt down. So he had used prince Walsun’s

house, largest and perfectly remained among the houses of

the royal family, as a temporary palace. However Sunjo died

and his son Gwanghaegun(or Prince Gwanghae) came to

throne in the east side chamber of the temporary chamber.

He named the palace Gyungun Palace. Though it became a

palace in the late Joseon Dynasty, it is the historic place of the

late dynasty and shows significance of both traditional and

western architecture.

After being left empty for about 270 years, Gyungun

Palace was back on stage during the Korean Empire. Go-

jong, 26th king, had felt a threat of his safety from the Eulmi

Incident and had stayed at the Russian legation(Korea royal

refuge at the Russian legation, 1896-1897). But in 1897, he

come back with formality expanding the Gyungun Palace.

He changed the name of the country to Korean Empire and

crowned him as Emperor initiating a Reformation(Gwangmu

Reformation, 1897-1904). However, as an result of the

Hague Secret Emissary Affai,r Imperial Japan forced Emperor

Gojong to abdicate the throne and Sujong was ascended.

Gyungun Palace ended its role as the royal palace with the

event. Sunjong named the palace Deoksu for the previous

king who still stayed at the palace, and it was called Deoksu

after that.

There is a unique building in the Deoksu Palace that

can’t be seen in others : Seokjojeon(Stone hall). This modern

western architecture was made by a proposal of Brown, the

government’s financial advisor. Seokjojeon, where Gojong

stayed, was used for showing arts by the Japan after Gojong

died and the palace were even opend for citizens after then.

The symbol of the Korean Empire fell and became an art

museum. After the independence and that America, England,

Russian, and China decides to rule Korea separately, Seokjo-

jeon was the place where South Korea decided to make an

independent government. This became the start of the divi-

sion and still remains as the grief in Korea’s history.

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"Frugal but not Humble"Our Palaces show the how the root of Korea is frugal

but never humble and the character of Korea embel-

lished with the balance of knowledge and science but also

considering the people’s spirit. The five palaces built with

delicacy and science is absolutely a history we need to

protect and leave for the future generations.

Containing the 500 history of Joseon, each of the

five palaces hold sad but beautiful stories. Showing both

Joseon’s grand spirit and wound, these palaces have some-

thing that charm people who get to know more about

them.

Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Changgyeon, Deoksu,

Gyeonghui Palace have great powers. This powers will

also be shown to the people worldwide. How about visit-

ing these five palaces than traveling far to see France’s

Versailles or China’s Forbidden City? Feel the sentiment,

taste, and the feelings of the Koreans that has brought this

Country this far.

Changdeok Palace

Changdeok Palace is the second official palace of Joseon

Dynaty. It was built in 1405. As Gyeongbok Palace was burnt

during Japan’s invasion, the royal family had to move in to the

Chandeok Palce. Actually, this palace was been used longer

than the first one. Thus, this palace is well perserved.

Chyangdeok Palace is famous for its beauty. Especially,

the harmony it makes with the nature around is just amazing.

The structure of the palace is quite natural rather than fixed.

This may be the reason why Changdeok Palace is designated

as the World Cultural Heritage.

There is also a small building in changdeok Palace called

‘Jakseonjae’. This was built by Hungjong, the 24th king of

Joseon. He was said to build the building for his loving court

lady. The romanticist king used this building only for his pri-

vate used with his lover. ■

창덕궁 주합루2323


By Sae Mee Hong

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The Gyeongju Historic Areas with the 1000-year-old History of Shilla Dynasty

석굴암

석가탑 다보탑

불국사

고인돌

The Gyeongju Historic Areas embody the time-honored

history and culture of Gyeongju, the ancient capital of

the Shilla Dynasty. The Gyeongju Historic Areas encompass a

number of remarkable ruins of temples and palaces, outdoor

pagodas and statuary, and other cultural artifacts left by the

Shilla Dynasty, including Seokguram, Bulguksa, Cheomseongdae,

etc. These artifacts have always been helpful in various studies of

Korea architecture and Buddhism. Not only is Gyeongju Historic

Areas useful in academic fields, but it is also popular among ordi-

nary people.

Showing a high degree of science and art of the Shilla people,

each of the outstanding examples of the Shilla Dynasty holds

a key to understanding Korean cultural history. In particular,

Seokguram and Bulguksa are considered to be one of the most

remarkable art treasures, added to the World Heritage List by

UNESCO.

Let’s take a deeper look at each artifact. First of all, Seokguram

was constructed during the 8th century while Shilla was under

KIng Kyungduk(the 35th king)’s rule. It is the only artificial stone

cave to be recognized as World Heritage. Actually, it is the only

artificial stone cave in the world. . Seokguram’s interior reflect

Shilla people’s high technology and aesthetic sense; a spring was

built in order to prevent the cave from getting foggy and the

statue of Buddha was adjusted at a height that considered the

viewers’ eye level; Buddhism statues decorating the interior

show astonishing level of sophistication and beauty.

Next is Bulguksa. It is also know as “the land of Buddha” and

can be easily described as heaven on Earth. Because of the dam-

ages done and the lack of effort to restore these damages, the

perfectness of Bulguksa can no longer be seen. However,it still

displays outstanding beauty of Shilla’s constructing technology.

Bulguksa is mainly divided into four parts. As you walk from

one place to another, you can see beautiful structures. Among

all the rest, Chungenkyo and Baekenkyo which depicted the

bridge that leads to the world of Buddha is known for its mag-

nificent exterior. Among the pagodas, Dabotap and Seokgatap

are most commonly known.

Seokgatap features a simple exterior. However from its per-

fect symmetry we can see a unique form of beauty only gained

through moderation. Once you take another look, it is not hard

to see why it has the most-copied pagoda. On the contrary,

Dabotap has a complicated and fancy appearance as it is based

on a style from India. The fact that these two pagodas are

placed next to each other represents Shilla’s bold attempt to

create something novel.

If one wishes to spend a day surrounded by buildings that are

hundreds and thousands years old, I dare say that Gyeongju His-

toric Areas is the best place to be. It has both marvelous struc-

tures that have already surprised many others, and the site tells

us the stories from hundreds of years back. ■


By Se Yong Chung

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I taly’s Piazza del Duomo, Cambodia’s Angkor, China’s Great

Wall, and France’s Cathedral of Notre-Dame. These are all

marvelous legacies of the world that are included in the UNES-

CO World Heritage List. People tend to give homage to these

great cultural legacies. While this honor was once only limited to

countries advanced in terms of culture and finance, such as Eu-

ropean countries like France, England, and Italy and the United

States of America, Korea is recently showing a remarkable in-

crease in the number of its traditional heritages that have been

selected as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Haeinsa Temple

Janggyeong Panjeon, the Depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana

Woodblocks; Changdeokgung Palace Complex; Jongmyo Shrine;

Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa’s dolmen sites; the Royal Tombs

of the Joseon Dynasty; Hahoe and Yangdong’s traditional villages;

Hwaseong Fortress; Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa; Gyeongju

Historic Areas; Jeju Volcanic Islands and Lava Tubes are legacies

that Koreans should thank their ancestors for. Among them, I

would like to give the spotlight to the dolmens.

A dolmen is a type of grave made of immense stones. At a

glance, one may seem like a cluster of big, plain stones. However,

they are highly valuable for understanding Korean prehistory.

Many historians regard the Neolithic era as the most important

prehistoric age, since it was then that the practice of cultivation

started. However, I assert that the Bronze Age is more signifi-

cant. During the Bronze Age, humanity developed the concept

of social hierarchy. Dolmens are significant because they prove

that this hierarchy existed. In order to make such masterpieces,

numerous people were needed. Thus, dolmens give people a

precise clue about the social structure during Korea’s Bronze

Age.

But why Korea?The answer to this rather skeptical question can be easily

found from the expression “Korea, the Kingdom of Dolmens.”

There are 60 thousand dolmens throughout the world including

the ones located in Europe and Southeastern Asia. Of them, 30

thousand dolmens exist in Korea. Not only are there many dol-

mens in Korea, but they are also preserved in outstanding condi-

tion. These dolmens are especially concentrated in the provinces

of Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa. For these reasons, Korean

dolmens became designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in

December, 2000. 漢

Korea, the Kingdom of Dolmens

다보탑

고인돌


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What Is Suwon Hwaseong?

Suwon Hwaseong is the fortress surrounding the center of

Suwon, the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It

was built in the late eighteenth century by King Jungjo of the

Joseon Dynasty, ostensibly to honor and house the remains

of his father Prince Janghyun. Construction of the fortress

began in 1794 and was completed two years later, in 1796.

The wall is 5.74 kilometers (3.57 mi) in length and encloses

1.3 square kilometers (0.5 sq mi) of land. The parapets are

made of stone and brick and are thought to have been 1.2

(4 ft) meters in height. The fortress suffered partial damage

during Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War, but most

of its original features have now been restored.

Historical Meaning of the Hwaseong Fortress

Suwon was greatly influenced by Silhak, a pragmatic school

of thought imported from China’s Qing dynasty which arrived

in Korea shortly before construction began on the new town.

Thanks to the innovative equipment developed under the

practical influence of Silhak, King Jungjo was able to shorten

the construction period with even less labor and material

costs.

People in Suwon also experienced the great love of

King Jungjo towards them through the building process of

Hwaseong Fortress. He changed the design so as to include

housing for people, paid for their labor and provided medical

care. He also postponed the construction process when the

weather became too hot or cold.

Even though the construction of Hwaseong Fortress began

with King Jungjo’s grief for the loss of his father, Prince Jang-

hyun, the fortress has become one of the greatest heritages

in South Korea.

Suwon Hwaseong was initially designed to house the tomb

of Prince Janghyun who was, as a son of King Yeongjo, the

royal heir. Politicians in the ruling party disliked the Prince

because he criticized their decisions publicly. Hence, they

plotted to report to King Yeongjo that his son was mentally

unstable, wantonly killing people. This was a disappointment

to the king. Yeongjo ordered that his son be locked inside a

chest of rice, so that he might regret his past misbehavior.

The Prince was given neither food nor water inside the chest,

where he was found dead upon opening the chest, eight days

later.

An International Value

In 1997, UNESCO designated Suwon Hwaseong as a

World Heritage site. Despite its short history, the fortress

boasts a unique defense mechanism originating from West-

ern as well as Asian architectural heritage. Also, it should be

noted that every part of the construct has distinctive shapes

and designs. ■

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World Heritage Site is place listed by UNESCO according

to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the

World Cultural and Natural Heritage. It is consist of the world’s

cultural, natural and complex heritages which have ecological and

anthropological values. So, World Heritage Sites must be conserved

by global citizens as well as local residents.

Sites must show off superior natural beauty and aesthetic signifi-

cance. They should also reveal the history of life, geological pro-

cesses, or geographical features.

Jeju Island is a subtropical island just off the southern tip of the

South Korean peninsula. It is famous the honeymoon resort for

Koreans. It is, also, famous for clear blue water, tangerines, and a

temperate climate, as well as women, rocks and wind.

Mt. Halla has the highest peak, 1950m above the sea level, in

South Korea and is the symbol of Jeju Island. Mt. Halla has peculiar

volcanic landscapes: Baeknokdam, the crater lake at the summit, the

precipitous rocky cliffs named Yeongsilgiam, and about forty volcanic

cones. Mt. Halla has a small (108 m deep and 550 m wide) crater

at its center instead of a caldera. It is curious why the mountain

doesn't have a caldera in spite of its fairly big size. The volcanic rocks

near the Baeknokdam crater at the summit were the product of

an eruption only a few thousand to tens of thousands years ago,

suggesting that the eruption of Mt. Halla continued until prehistoric

times. Because of its young age, the summit area of Mt. Halla pre-

serves fresh volcanic landforms and rock formations.

Seongsan Ilchulbong, also called ‘Sunrise Peak,’ is an archetypal tuff

cone formed by hydro-volcanic eruptions upon a shallow seabed

about 5 thousand years ago. The 182 m-high tuff cone, dominating

the eastern seaboard of Jeju Island like a gigantic ancient castle, not

only preserves its bowl-like crater but also provides excellent sea-

cliff exposures of diverse internal structures. This natural structure

has great geologic values—it provides a basis for interpretation of

eruptive and depositional processes of hydro-magmatic volcanoes

worldwide in addition to the past volcanic activity of the tuff cones.

It is a type of volcano formed by violent explosive eruption when

magma interacts with water. Jeju Island has many such phreatomag-

matic volcanoes and has become internationally important place for

studies of volcano. The fortress-like Seongsan Ilchulbong tuff cone,

with its walls rising out of the ocean, is a dramatic landscape feature.

It also has exceptional exposures of its internal structures making

this place as an important site for understanding Surtseyan-type vol-

canic eruptions.

The Geomunoreum Lava Tube System refers to a series of lava

tube caves formed in the large amounts of basaltic lava spewed out

by the live Geomunoreum volcano. The lava from the Geomuno-

reum volcano flowed down the slope of Mt. Hallasan in a north-

northeast direction down to the coastline for about 13漢. This place

is estimated to be formed between about 100 and 300 thousand

years ago. So far, the Geomunoreum Lava Tube System includes the

Seonheul Vertical Cave, Bengdwi-gul Lava Tube, Bukoreum-donggul

Lava Tube, Daerim-donggul Lava Tube, Mangjang-gul Lava Tube,

Gimnyeong-gul Lava Tube, Yongcheon-donggul Lava Tube, and

Dangcheomul-donggul Lava Tube towards the sea. Furthermore,

more caves are expected to be discovered in the future. Among

those lava tubes, the Bengdwi-gul Lava Tube, Mangjang-gul Lava

Tube, Gimnyeong-gul Lava Tube, Yongcheon-donggul Lava Tube,

and Dangcheomul-donggul Lava Tube are designated as national

monuments. The perfect preservation of the internal morphologi-

cal features, and the outstanding beauty associated with numerous

beautiful carbonate speleothem enabled "Jeju Volcanic Island and

Lava Tubes" to be inscribed as a World Natural Heritage. The Geo-

munoreum lava tube system is the most impressive and significant

series of protected lava tube caves in the world and includes a

spectacular array of secondary carbonate speleothems (stalactites

and other formations). And it overwhelms other lava tubes with

its abundance and diversity. And another feature making Geomu-

noreum Lava Tube System globally significant and distinctive is the

presence of carbonate deposits and formations. Very small deposits

of calcite are common in lava tube caves and are more significantly

developed as speleothems in Duck Creek cave in Utah, USA.

However, in abundance, density and diversity, Duck Creek cave is

far less impressive than Yongcheon-gul and Dangcheomul-donggul

Lava Tubes in Jeju, and the scale of these decorations within the lava

caves of Jeju Island far exceeds any other comparable caves. ■

Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes

By Ae Yeong Hong


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Gaya is an ancient kingdom that existed in the southeast of the

Korean peninsula. At that time, Gaya was located between

Baekje and Silla. It was a confederate kingdom, consisting of six coun-

tries. Comparing with other ancient kingdoms and dynasties, Gaya’s

history is only known little to people, but according to written docu-

ments and artifacts, especially ceramic pots, Gaya had a sophisticated

culture.

Gaya’s history goes back to 200 B.C. There were twelve small coun-

tries in the Byunhan region, one of the southern provinces of the

Korean peninsula. One of the countries was Gaya, where nine chiefs

each ruled a village. These nine villages were later split into six states:

Geumgwan-Gaya, Ara-Gaya, Goryeong-Gaya, Dae-Gaya, Seongsan-

Gaya, and So-Gaya. And this is how Gaya started its own history.

There is also a myth behind the foundation of Gaya. One day, peo-

ple of Gaya heard the voice of a god and sang a song called “Guji-ga,”

just as they were told. When they finished the song, a ray of violet

light shone from the sky. People followed the end of the light and

found six golden eggs. From the eggs, six babies were born, and soon

they grew up to be rulers of Gaya. The first of the babies to hatch

was King Suro, who ruled Geumgwan-Gaya. There are many inter-

pretations of the myth, but the most dominant interpretation is that

a group of indigenous Gayans and a new group of immigrants came

together and establish Gaya.

Gaya’s history has two parts—former period and latter period.

Geumgwan-Gaya, ruled by King Suro, was the leading state of the

former period. An interesting story involving King Suro is about his

queen. The queen was Princess Heo of Ayuta. However, experts

have different views of Ayuta’s existence. The most accepted view

is that Ayuta was a region near the Ganges. The fish of the region is

similar to that of King Suro’s mark. And DNA analysis of Queen

Heo’s descendants shows that they share the same DNA with people

from southern India. Other theories suggest that a traditional Korean

song “Arirang” is derived from the song that Queen Heo sang while

traveling to Gaya.

Geumgwan-Gaya established its foundation for power through

the transit trade. It led the former period of Confederate Gaya, but

collapsed in 532 B.C., when Silla and Goguryeo each expanded its in-

fluence toward west and south. Gaya tried to resist the invasion but

couldn’t defeat Goguryeo. After the downfall of Geumgwan-Gaya,

Dae-Gaya rose as the leading power of the latter period, but Silla

took over the states one by one.

Although they all started out as a form of confederate kingdom,

Baekje, Silla, and Goguryeo developed into centralized kingdoms

while Gaya disappeared into history forever. However, Gaya pro-

duced steel that helped kingdoms to establish the foundations for

potential development. Gaya had flourishing trade relationships and

advanced agriculture. The earthen wares of Gaya were so sophis-

ticated that they were even sold in Japan. Gaya may take up only a

small part of Korean history, but it’s our history that we should never

forget. ■

By Sa Yon YunKorean History BriefingGAYA


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“Through the past we grasp the present and seek the future.”

It’s a well known cliché in the field of history. Also, it’s a phrase

that sums up the situation the East Asia is facing right now. While

Korea is seeking a head start for the future, China is aiming for a re-

gional hegemony with a cold smile on their lips. The most notorious

one among their numerous strategies is the “North-East project”, a

government propelled movement to incorporate East Asian ancient

history into Chinese history.

Korea stands firm against Chinese government’s nation-

alistic scheme. Two major ancient nations have been at the center

of dispute– Goguryeo and Balhae. Goguryeo, on one hand, proves

in their founding idea that they differ from China. Furthermore,

their anthropological constituents and unique relics further set

them apart from the continent. “The History of Three Kingdoms”,

the Korean official book of history, and many of the reliable Chinese

ancient documents prove to be strengthening evidences, too.

However, Balhae on the other hand, is not in such a

good shape. For one thing, there are just not enough relics exca-

vated to be of evidence, and written documents are also lacking in

number. Even those that remain sometimes contradict each other.

For example, two famous Chinese historic documents, The Old

Tang Chronicles and The New Tang Chronicles, contain records of

Dae Jo Young, the founder of Balhae. However, the two differs on

his background. While The Old Tang Chronicles define him as a de-

scendent of Goguryeo, The New Tang Chronicles recorded him as

a Chinese tribal nomad. By making use of the latter record, Chinese

government is claiming the lineage of Balhae.

Korea faces not much of a better situation. The only

document that specifically records about Balhae is the “Balhae-

Go” by Sir Yoo-Duek. He noted that Dae Jo Young used to be a

general in Goguryeo. It is credited for being one of the few Korean

documents. However, it was only written in the 18th century (Bal-

hae existed around 8~10th century), and its title implies that it is a

miscellany rather than a historical document. Other Korean records

include <Sillagogi>, the ancient record of Silla, another document

noting Dae Jo Young as a general from Goguryeo, and <Samkukyu-

sa>, the eccentric episodes of three countries, which quotes from

it. Sadly, <Sillagogi> doesn’t exist anymore.

Due to these limitations, Korea and China disputes over

the contradicting details. This can lead to another distortion of his-

tory. Such occurrence of controversy casts doubt on the method

of relying heavily on primary data. In other words, a comprehensive

approach that puts both the subjected period and the present pe-

riod in consideration is needed.

Here, someone came into my mind. His name is Flavious

Stillicho. He was the general of West Roman Empire after Rome

split into half. He is not much of a well known figure, but he was the

last true Roman standing. This patriotic man provides a key to the

problem we face today.

Contrary to his long-praised Roman spirit, his bloodline

is somewhat exotic. His mother was a Roman, but his father was a

Vandal, a German tribe. His father became a Roman and became a

Cavalry General during Emperor Theodosius (346~395) or Gra-

tianus(359~383), the one ahead. Stillicho became the man in the

power during his 20s. He made some critical moves in negotiating

with Persian Empire. Emperor Theodosius gave this talented man

his niece (and also a stepdaughter) Celena and brought him to his

side. Responding to the Emperor’s expectations, Stillicho distin-

guishes himself in war against Germans, and becomes the Supreme

Commander before the death of Theodosius.

Stillicho was such a credible person to the emperor that he later

appointed Stillicho to be the top advisor for his son. Stillicho later

became the general of the Western Roman Empire and fought for

the empire for thirteen years.

But behind Stillicho’s reputation, there remained much hatred and

despise from his numerous political enemies. As the Western Ro-

man Empire was a paternal society, the fact that Stillicho’s father was

Vandals gave him the image of a savage and so his soldiers were not

very faithful to him. Such situation worsened when soldiers found

out that Stillicho tried to bring Visigoth mercenaries to build his

army to protect the empire. Taking advantage of this situation, politi-

cal opponents of Stillicho accused him of treason and henceforth

killed him by the order of the emperor.

As the general of the Western Roman Empire, Stillicho was fully

By Jung Byung Hun

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able to eliminate his enemies as well as defy any orders given to

him. But he upheld the law of the Romans and until his death, he

adhered to such governance. This was a time when even the purest

of Romans tried survive whatever the cost. This is why Stillicho who

has an ancestry of Vandals, is praised throughout Rome for his ac-

tions were strictly for the empire.

The reason there was such descriptive information about Stillicho

was that his life was similar to that of Dae Jo Young.

First, they both had the ancestry of foreign people. Stillicho had an

ancestry of Vandals and Dae Jo Young had that of Goguryeo epig-

one, a term that reflects the order of North East Asia of that time.

Goguryeo was consisted of pure Goguryeon and Malgal , starting

as a united regional kingdom. Pure Goguryeo are the people who

started with King Chumo in Jolbon but as Malgal also started with

King Chumo, these people should also be considered Goguryeo.

But, strictly speaking they were a little different. Therefore, they

were named Gudangseo, ancient record of empire Tang dynasty,

to point this subtle difference. This conclusion gives solution to the

question of Sindangseo, ancient record of empire Tang dynasty, Sok-

malmalgal. According to the territory transformations throughout

the history of Goguryeo, this region became territory of Goguryeo

before King Munja(419-519) at the end of 5 century(494). And

considering the time before the fall of Goguryeo, there was enough

time for this region to be fully assimilated to its mainstream. This

proves that he was also assimilated to the upper class of Goguryeo

and that he was influential person in the society. All in all, Stillicho

and Dae Jo Young are both considered the people of their coun-

tries.

Second, both Stillicho and Dae Jo Young followed the stereotypes

of their countries. Stillicho was known for utilizing the quintessential

diplomatic tactic of Rome: using barbarians to drive out other bar-

barians. He also followed the Gentleman’s Agreement of Rome and

tried to uphold his emperor to the moment of his death. He loved

his country to the fullest and tried in many ways to keep improving

his country. There was no way he could have done all this without

true and faithful love for his country.

Dae Jo Young also paid great attention to his country. He was well

known for his exceptional skill in combat and bravery. His escape

from a lord tells us how he established the kingdom of Balhae on

the basis of his enterprising vision and audacity.

He followed the diplomacy tactics of the Goguryeo people. After

he came into power, it is assumed that he sent an envoy to the chief

of the Göktürk people (one of the Chinese nomadic tribes), Muk-

chul, to establish an alliance with them and also dispatched a delega-

tion to Japan. This was a strategy aimed at maintaining a balance of

power between China and Silla. Also, he shows many similarities

to Goguryeo people while overcoming the many difficulties in the

early stages of establishing the country,

One significant thing is the posthumous name of Dae Jo Young.

After his death, he is revered as GoWang (Korean meaning: the

King of Goguryeo) and this sums up his life in one word. He is a true

descendent of Goguryeo as shown even in his posthumous name.

China argues that Dae Jo Young is actually from a Chinese no-

madic tribe called Malgal and regards Balhae as a country of the

Malgal. This, however, is because China looks at Dae Jo Young from

a solely modern perspective. Where the Malgal tribe used to live is

currently the territory of the Chinese, and since Balhae’s capital was

also located in the Chinese territory, China is ignoring the historical

records that indicate Dae Jo Young as a descendent of Goryeo (aka

Goguryeo) and is only recognizing the existence of the Malgal tribe.

This logic is based on race and modern concept of territory. In

other words, we are arguing about ancient history based on mod-

ern nationalism. However, modern concepts of nationalism and

ancient history are products of two entirely different eras. The

modern nationalism exists as a pretext for countries that have lost

their sovereignty to reconstruct itself without division or any other

harm. The reason for defining territory as a region where people

of the same race live lies there. However, this problem also needs

to be looked at from a nationalistic view of the past. In the past, all

Goguryeo people thought that they were of a different race from

the Chinese, and this independent view of the Goguryeo people

is well shown in the tombstone of King Gwang-gaeto. During the

past era of open borders, Northeast Asia was a region where many

nationalities intersected. From the northern Manju region to whole

of the Korean Peninsula, many races and nationalities lived amongst

each other. Looking at a time like this from a modern perspective is

pointless and China, the home to 56 different nationalities, is not an

exception.

When we look at the history of Northeast Asia, we have to look

at it with an appropriate perspective. The reason they could unite

as one country was because they shared the same consciousness.

Since they considered consciousness to be more important than

race, they could place intellectuals, soldiers, or semi-military forces

(nomads, hunters) that had the ability to move in the right position

and make full use of them. They also succeeded that spirit and did

their best for the settlement.

Just like how Stillicho was a Roman, Dae Jo Young is, and must be,

our ancestor. We must remember who Stillicho and Dae Jo Young

pointed their swords at. ■


First Impressions of JoseonHendrick Hamel, working for the Dutch East India Trading

Company, was commissioned to go to Taiwan. However, after

three months at sea he became shipwrecked on the island of

modern day Jeju, a patch of land approximately southeast of

Korea’s mainland. As he remained in Joseon, he wrote accounts

of many aspects of 17th century’s Korean kingdom. For ex-

ample, he analyzed government structure, hierarchy status, and

the roles of religions. Hamel’s accounts provide significant in-

sight on Korea’s Joseon dynasty from a foreigner’s perspective.

Hamel’s observations prove to be valuable, yet not completely

reliable or valid. His accounts are early commentaries on the

social discourse of Joseon.

The tone of his journal is mainly full of curiosity, and he at-

tempt to comprehend a completely different culture and

people. Therefore, Hamel’s writings are inevitably biased; he

compares the differences between his own culture, Japan and

China’s with the culture of Joseon. Before his arrival, Hamel

had known the existences of two other East Asian civilizations,

Japan and China. Without a doubt, this provided Hamel with

some preconceptions of East Asian civilizations possibly making

it difficult for him to observe the distinction of Joseon dynasty

to China and Japan. Moreover, Hamel was a Christian: at that

time, Joseon mainly functioned on Confucianism with a slight

influence of Buddhism. In his writings, Hamel is critical of Jo-

seon’s religions. He refuses to acknowledge Confucianism as a

religion but views it more as a way of life and a basis of moral-

ity for the inhabitants. As for Buddhism, he regards the monks

and their relationship with society as corrupted and degrading

one. He refers to Buddhist rituals as “… their idol some super-

stitious rites” (Hamel 141). His use of the word “some” seems

very apathetic and a bit downgrading.

An important character of the Joseon dynasty during this

time was its absence of foreign policy and tendency to be se-

cluded from the rest of the world. From its fear of invasion,

Joseon refused to create or continue external relationships

with its surrounding nations. This was very much detrimental

as it slowed down their technological, scholarly, and societal

advancements, unlike Japan which promoted trading and ex-

change of ideas with other countries,

Korea shied away from the tumultuous world outside the na-

tion. Nevertheless, the King of Joseon provided a comfortable

stay for Hamel and his sailors as the King was curious to know

about the outside world. This act exemplifies that Joseon was

no racist or elitist but rather cut off from other nations in fear

of invasion solely based on pragmatic survival purposes.

Hamel also noticed the great importance of social hierarchy

existed in Joseon. Hamel wrote about accounts of slaves who

were treated as property by their masters and were bound

by official state law to obey them. And as a slave its lineal gen-

erations to come would also belong in that same class with

no room to move up in a societal class. Moreover, Hamel de-

scribed that men also treated women as property. He noticed

how women could not own any property, and wives could not

divorce with their husbands. These impartial laws did not apply

to men who could divorce with wives and have multiple spous-

es. These are only a few of the many examples and descrip-

tions Hamel provides in his journal. His writings are significant

because they are some of the earliest accounts of Korea effec-

tively allowing a raw, foreign description of the Joseon dynasty;

however, because it is partially biased, current readers should

consider the fact critically. ■

Source: Hamel, Hendrick. Hamel’s Journal And A Description Of The Kingdom Of Korea

1653-1666. Berkeley : Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California: Royal Asiatic

Society, Korea Branch, 2005. Print.

하멜 표류기

By June S. Choi

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Resistance Against Mongolia

This year is the hundredth anniversary of Ja-

pan’s colonization of Korea. Japan’s colonization was not

the first time our country has been devastated by for-

eign forces. The Korean peninsula was a constant “raid

attraction.” A few of the pre-modern reasons are that

Korea is capable of producing rice, and is a strong ally of

China. So, in order for ambitious conquistadors to hit

China, they first had to attack its alliance, Korea. Korea

was seen as a weak and dependent country. However,

having a long history of five thousand years, Korea did

pretty well in defending its independence. Although it

was constantly bullied by local barbarians, Korea under-

went only two significant invasions. The most remem-

bered invasion is the incursion of the Japanese on 1592,

during the Joseon dynasty. However, my focus is on the

other one: the invasion of the Mongolians during the

Goryeo dynasty. It would be a surprise to hear that the

infamous Mongolians had to give up on ruling Korea,

despite never having failed elsewhere. So, what kept the

Mongolians from taking over this small peninsula? The

answer lies within the people.

At the first time the Koreans and the Mon-

golians met, they were allies, subjugating the remaining

Khitan tribes together. However, as the Mongolians

grew larger and started forming a vast empire, they

decided to take over Korea. The invasions started when

a Mongolian envoy was assaulted and murdered while

returning to Mongolia. The Mongolian government ac-

cused Korea of being behind the incident that Korea

strongly denied. Whatever actually happened to the

envoy, the Mongolians rushed their cavalry towards the

peninsula. Since then, there have been seven separate

massive invasions. When the invasions began, the mili-

tary government moved the capital to Kang-hwa Island,

an island near Seoul, preparing for a prolonged war. It

knew that the Mongolians didn’t have a strong navy. The

government succeeded in defending its sovereignty and

the island, but the peninsula burnt to the ground. Many

historical artifacts and temples were lost. For example,

during the third invasion, the nine-story wooden pagoda

of Hwangryong-sa (the Imperial Dragon Temple), which

is believed to have been the tallest wooden structure in

history, was burned down, and a golden statue of Bud-

dha kept at the temple was melted down as well. In ad-

dition, Hwangryong-sa was located in Gyeong-ju, which

is in the southern part of the peninsula. It shows that

the Korean military system was defenseless toward the

invasion.

Then how did Goryeo keep its independence? Al-

though the government forces failed to defend the

country, the people of Korea employed guerilla warfare

against the Mongolians. Most of Mongolian forces were

compromised of horsemen, which meant that they

were not as effective in mountain areas as they were on

plains. The remaining government forces and the guerilla

militia understood this very well. People ran away from

their farmlands, fled to the mountain regions, and sup-

ported the resistance. During the first invasion, a monk

united the government forces and the militia altogether

and went on to defeat the Mongolian invasion forces at

“Cheo-in-sung,” resulting the death of Mongolian com-

mander.

However, as the war proceeded, Korea’s military gov-

ernment was faced by antagonists, who thought the war

was pointless and that they must surrender. Soon, the

antagonists became the majority, and the royal court

was resurrected. However, the military government still

couldn’t accept the fact they had to surrender. There-

fore, its private army, the “Sam-byeol-cho,” carried on

the resistance on other islands before they were anni-

hilated on their third island, Jeju. There is a memorial of

the army on Jeju Island.

Although the government wasn’t effective in keeping

the Mongolians out, the people fought with their lives,

trying to defeat the invaders. The analogy is self-evident.

During the invasion of the Japanese, the people fought

while the royal court of Joseon fled. It seems to be a

special trait of the Koreans: never succumbing to the

foreign forces. ■

By Sae Hoon Choi


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Learning From the Past

During the 18th and the 19th century, people’s revolu-

tions rose up in society everywhere in order to overthrow

absolute monarchies and aristocracies. French revolution

and the American Revolution are some of the examples.

Consequently, the absolute monarchies and anarchies col-

lapsed due to civil resistance and the people established

democratic political system.

When those revolutions happened in Western countries,

civil revolutions also happened in Joseon. Until then, land-

lord and tenant relationship sustained Joseon’s feudal sys-

tem, but this relationship started to break down, because

few dominating families monopolized power and ruling

power started to corrupt morally. Publics recognized these

changes and found irrationality of feudal system of Joseon.

In other words, publics felt the necessity for changes from

the bottom.

The civic revolutions began to break out due to growing

people’s resistance against feudal society. (Feudal society

is that social rank is determined with the summit of king

or monarch. This society usually suppresses its people to

show individual’s competence by the form of traditional-

ism.)

First of all, there were numerous popular uprisings.

Joseon’s people at that time suffered from exploitation

when the economy of farming villages collapsed, a large

reform was desired, and it led peasant movements to take

place. Finally, in 1894, Donghak peasant movement, the

most organized and nationwide peasant movement oc-

curred. They firmly excluded aggression of foreign powers

and discrimination. They, also, claimed for local self-gov-

ernment. Given such action, Donghak peasant movement

was an equality movement and a civil rights movement.

Secondly, there was a distinguished mass-education

drive or enlightenment. Especially, in 19th century, the

enlightenment organizations made an active movement.

Groups concerning the enlightenment set their sight on

fostering of sense of citizenship, building a modern society

and national economy. Among them, the Independence

organization turned down foreign powers’ interference of

the internal affairs and demands. They, also, held the first

national convention, which was participated by govern-

ment and people. Moreover, other organizations founded

modern schools and corporations. All these movements

had planted the seeds of patriotic sprit.

As we have seen so far, the public movements for a bet-

ter society wasn’t depended on government, but on peo-

ple who organized by themselves. Their calls to reform a

society were gleams of hope in those dreary times. While

the officials weren’t able to deal effectively with problems

like interference of foreign powers and corruption, people

of Joseon built up a step to go toward a modern society

and attempted to save a nation in a crisis. Hence, people

of Joseon had built a great capability which has been lead-

ing this nation so far to be a society which pursues the

equality and the freedom. ■

How People of Joseon Tried to Reform the Society from the Bottom

Man has become capable of making objective observation and counterplan about all matter including a nation. In addition, the subjective aspects have been settled. Now man owns mental individuality, and also awakened to be such being.

Burckhardt, Jacob Christopher

By Ji Young Han


Five Kings of Joseon500 years of Joseon dynasty was the history of twenty seven

kings. There were admired kings, despotic kings, and not well-

known kings. In this passage, we are going to introduce two not

well-known kings and four well-known kings.

The very first king to introduce is the 5th king, Munjong.

Munjong passed away after reigning only for two years

and three months. However, he has lived as the crown prince

for 29 years and acted as regent from 1442 to 1450 while the

former king, Sejong, was sick. He engaged both military and

scholarly officials and served Sejong well by welcoming loyal

advisors. In addition, as a child, Munjong was already well known

for his generosity and his desire for learning. Inventing the udo-

meter, he was expert especially in astronomy and arithmetic.

While he was in office, Munjong tried to invigorate press by hav-

ing regular meetings with scholarly officials. Also, he published

historical books about Goryeo such as Goryeosa, and Goryeo-

sajuryo, as well as, several books of military tactics such as Dong-

gookbyung-gam and Byungjangdoseol. Munjong prepared for

enemy’s attack by remodeling Hwa-Cha (old Korean multiple

launch rocket system) which had been invented by King Taejong.

In spite of his short administration period, Munjong spent about

ten years (including his regency) accomplishing great successes

in the fields of science and history. Moreover, the greatness of

Munjong was proved by his triumph of vitalizing and accepting

public opinion by possessing both flexibility and firmness as a

leader.

The next king to introduce is Yejong. Yejong succeeded

to the throne at the age of nineteen, but Queen Jeong

Hee, as regent, ruled the dynasty because Yejong was young to

reign. However, He sometimes showed his charisma as a king.

The most exemplary case was the event of Prisoner Minsu. Ye-

jong was so angry because historians erased officials’ faults while

emphasized king’s faults, so he left the historians to die in prison.

Also, when naming the tomb of Sejo, Yejong argued to name it

with twelve letters while officials argued for eight letters. That

controversy not only praised the former king’s accomplish-

ments, but also maintained the royal power strong. Unlike the

strong and firm aspect of Yejong, he was nice to the people

helping them to cultivate the land inside barracks. Even though

he passed away at the age of twenty, it is quite evident that he

was one of the great kings.

Sejong is one of the most admired kings in Korea, who is

called as Sejong the Great. During his 32 years of reign,

from 1418 to 1450, he accomplished many things in politics,

culture, social issues, technology, military, and established the

foundation for the society. He tried to harmonize personnel

power and royal authority, so he appointed scholarly officials like

Hwanghui and Maengsaseong. He established scholastic institu-

tion called Jipyeonjeon to raise great personnel. Jipyeonjeon

scholars contributed their talents to establish great culture and

critically accepted China’s ceremonies and system.

Hunminjeongeum, the Korean script, is considered as the

greatest achievement of Sejong. It is the most scientific written

language and the only written one for which the creator and the

purpose of its creation is clearly known.

Moreover, in order to increase national finances and make

lives easier for the people, he put effort in the publication of

books such as Nongsajikseol, which includes the tips for agricul-

ture. Also, he reformed taxation to benefit both the people and

government’s finance.

He published the Confucian scriptures containing political,

geographical, and astronomical information, which led Joseon

Dynasty into the period of renaissance. Sejong also presented

three metallographic printing types, which contributed to the

innovation of the printing technique.

In the field of science, Sejong employed Jang Yeong Sil, who

was lowest class at that time, and supported Jang Yeong Sil to

develop Joseon’s science technology supremely; Jang Yeong Sil

invented the Korean observatory, sundial, water clock, and the

pluviometer. Moreover, Jang Yeong Sil put his effort to reform

artillery and gunpowder, which enhanced the military power of

Joseon.

Sejong also concerned about military problems with Jurchen,

so he established Sa-gun Yuk-Jin, four military zones that is divid-

ed into six sections, which kept Northern boundary peacefully.

Joseon’s fifteenth king is Gwanghaegun, the unfortunate

monarch whose accomplishments were clouded by the

zeitgeist of the nation.

Gwanghaegun’s achievements start even before he becomes

king. Before he ascended the throne, Gwanghaegun fought

against Japan, which was invading Joseon, plundering towns, and

massacring many people. He conducted in battlefields, leading

Joseon to successfully push out the Japanese. After the war, he

ascended the throne as the 15th King of the Joseon Dynasty.

Since what he inherited from his father was a country just freed

from a devastating war, Gwanghaegun knew that he had to

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By Hanil High School


settle domestic issues first. In order to revitalize the economy,

he proposed land reforms and reconstructed the Changdeok

Palace. To strengthen the national defense, he also replaced

commanders of the border area and increased the number of

cannons and other weapons near the border.

As for international issues, Gwanghaegun took a practical ap-

proach. As he was rebuilding the country, there was a conflict

in China between the Ming Dynasty and the Jurchen tribe. The

Ming Dynasty asked for Joseon’s help for sake of fidelity, yet

Gwanghaegun could not ignore the fact that the Jurchen tribe

was the rising sun of China. Eventually, he decided to maintain

neutrality, siding neither side, and ordered Captain Kang Honglib

and his 10 thousand soldiers to help either side depending on

the situation. Such decision allowed Gwanghaegun to procure

Joseon’s security without much loss since he had won both the

Mind Dynasty’s and Jurchen’s favor. Gwanghaegun’s practical

approach towards international issues also improved the diplo-

matic relationship with Japan, for he knew that ignoring Japan

just because of the past would do no good to Joseon’s future.

Despite all these accomplishments, Gwanghaegun was de-

throned through Injo’s Usurpation. However, his achievements

still show that Gwanghaegun was a practical king who tried to

seek for balance of international powers through his exceptional

diplomatic finesse.

Yeongjo, the 21st King of Joseon Dynasty, governed for

the people with his ideal model, Tangpyeongchaek.

Tangpyeongchaek was a method exploited to effectively solve

the dispute between the factions that caused Joseon Dynasty to

have corrupted political structure.

To start with, he expelled all the officials who did not show

any interest in cooperating with the rest of the party. As time

passed by, people with a moderate tone of differing political

opinions were engaged rather than those with a competent

mind. Although he failed to reach the stage of perfection, he is

still appraised as the founder of a superior system.

There were works done for the commoners as well. He en-

forced Gyunyeokbeop, a legislation made to reduce the huge

burden of the public by collecting only one roll of cloth instead

of two, which was more rational than before. In addition, he

abolished the severe torture system used for punishing culprits

and approved sons of concubines to be the public official, thus

upgrading their status.

Grandson of Yeongjo, the following successor, Jeongjo, is

considered one of the greatest kings of Joseon Dynasty,

who reigned from 1776 to 1880. Considering the fact that the

public viewed him second in fame to Sejong the Great, I person-

ally think Jeongjo has done as much as King Sejong has done for

the nation.

He firstly utilized Tangpyeongchaek to settle down the faction.

Before Jeongjo became the king, the factions caused many prob-

lems purging each other, trying to take over the government

system. However, Jeongjo party, who dominated the council

at last, eliminated the ones with power that could threaten his

political lifespan, and assigned lieges from the Soron and Namin

parties who were out of saddle. Through this action, Jeongjo

was finally able to balance the political power and remove the

negative effect of the factions.

The second achievement of Jeongjo was connected to the

consolidation of royal authority. He built Gyujang-gak, the num-

ber one royal library of Joseon Dynasty, and authorized the

power by supervising state examination and taking responsibili-

ties for education of the vassal. Implementation of Chogyemun-

shin system, an education system for young, competent and

potential students to study in Gyujang-gak was carried out.

Teaching the students personally, Jeongjo was able to secure the

loyalty of the students later in the political ground. He also set

up a royal bodyguard system, Jangyongyeong, a military opera-

tion, not only to protect himself but to fully conduct his policy.

And at last, the construction of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress.

It was the trigger to realize his political dream, the sign that he

had gained the greatest sovereign power during his term. The

Hwaseong Fortress was listed as World Heritage by the UNES-

CO in 1997 for its practicality and beauty.

His third action was to stabilize the livelihoods of the public.

As mentioned before, Jeongjo eased the discrimination to-

wards sons of concubines and servants. He went further on to

choosing competent ones of these once-low-ranks to work in

Gyujang-gak, something that previous kings had never dealt with

before. Yu Deukgong and Park Jaega are two good examples of

such people. To help the people financially, Jeongjo prohibited

the monopoly of the market which led to the development of

commerce, and also opened a mine for people to work and

earn money out of it. These policies not only helped the people,

but also took up a big proportion of the national finance, in that

it made more people able to pay their tax. Besides all those, he

also had a secret royal inspector to keep the lookout for the

tyranny of the local officials.

Jeongjo attributed a big portion to the developing of the na-

tion. Unfortunately, because he died in early age, all his work

became nothing. Only if he had lived longer, all his reformation

might have been successful and maybe we might have called

him King Jeongjo the Great. ■

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Most nations around the world, including the Republic of Korea, have adopted a system of party politics. Given that fact, would

you be surprised if political parties had already existed in the Joseon Dynasty five hundred years ago? Its form and other small

details were little different, but the Joseon Dynasty indeed had a similar system called “Boongdang.” Therefore, I would first like to

introduce what Boongdang is and then compare it with party politics today.

Party Politics Now and Then

First of all, what is “Boongdang”? The Boongdang system

originated from groups of small and medium landown-

ing Yangbans (the aristocrats of Joseon) called “Sarim.” Sarim

had made their debut as a political force since the 9th King of

Joseon, Seongjong, who decided to begin employing them. But

Sarim faced a series of obstacles called “Sahwa,” which ended

with the downfall of Sarim and rise of conservative politicians

called “Hoongu,” who started to rule country since the 14th

King Seonjo.

Sarim conflicted with Hoongu over stopping the king’s

maternal relatives from meddling in politics and a government

position called “Ijo-Jeonrang,” who made the final decision in

all personnel relocation. As the strife between parties intensi-

fied, Sarim was divided into the East sect, with Shin Uigyum as

the central figure, and the West sect, headed by Kim Hyowon.

Boongdang at this time had positive effects on the Joseon Dy-

nasty because outstanding individuals could actively participate

in politics and the parties remained balanced.

Boongdang was again divided during the 15th King Gwang-

haegun’s reign: the East sect split into the South and North

sects. From that point on, there were the North sect, which

gained its power from the supportive monarch Gwanghaegun,

the South sect and the West sect. However, when the West

sect overthrew Gwanghaegun and replaced him with Injo,

who later became the 16th king of Joseon, the North sect col-

lapsed. At this time, Boongdang still functioned normally with

the West sect in power and the South sect criticizing, holding

each other in check.

The West and South sects then confronted each other over

how long the queen mother was to be in mourning for the

17th king Hyojong and his wife. These are called the first and

second Yesong, meaning the conflicts over the royal etiquette.

The West sect dominated the first Yesong, and the South sect

dominated at the second Yesong. At this time, each sect still

acknowledged the other’s existence and ability to criticize and

participate in politics.

However, Boongdang politics started to lose its initial es-

sence during times of political chaos under the 19th king Suk-

jong. The power balance between the two major parties was

upset, and they continued to kill one another off, making poli-

tics very unstable. During this political chaos, the Hwanguk, the

West sect was in the absolute power, settling into a one-party

dictatorship. They refused permission for opposition forces to

exist and carried out purges of counterforces.

To reform Boongdang politics, the 21st ruler Youngjo and his

successor Jungjo implemented Tangpyeongchek, which sought

to employ people of talent regardless of their political stance.

When Crown Prince Sado died, Boongdang finally separated

into the Byuk sect, or Noron, and the Shi sect, which included

the former South sect and Soron. Under Youngjo’s ruling,

Noron and Shi sect were able to enter politics by equally em-

ploying people. In this sense, Tangpyeong was the appropriate

policy to restore political balance.

However, when Jungjo died young, the royal relatives, mainly

Byuk sect, dominated politics. They did not allow any other

people outside royal families to be employed even if they were

in Byuk sect. Moreover, as they started to deny and purge

other Boongdangs, Boongdang politics faded away.

Now, let’s look at contemporary party politics. Political par-

ties are bodies of people that unite to fulfill their common

political goals by accessing political power. The modern form of

political parties was established as the election system and par-

liamentary system of the U.S. advanced. Political parties func-

tion as an intermediary between the national government and

the citizens to make sure that people’s interests and opinions

are well reflected in contemporary politics. In the presidential

By Min Hyuk Lim

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system and the parliamentary government, parties are classi-

fied into the ruling party and opposition parties. All parties in

politics criticize and hold one another in check. Also, political

parties involve many people, making themselves big organiza-

tions. And they cannot exist without the democracy, especially

the parliamentary and election system.

Now, let’s compare contemporary political parties and

Boongdang. Contemporary political parties have political

purpose to access to power and are divided into ruling and

opposition parties to sustain and stabilize political system.

Boongdang functioned similarly. Boongdangs conflicted with

other sect to gain power, and each sect criticized one another

to keep the political balance. Moreover, Boongdangs involved

many officials, who were the key members of politics.

Still, there remain several differences between political par-

ties and Boongdang. Political parties express various interests

groups’ opinions and integrate opinions into policies. Also,

political parties set their general goals after listening to the

members and people’s opinions. Then, political parties require

the parliamentary and electoral system to exist. On the other

hand, general opinions of Boongdangs were decided only by

retired regional elder statesmen called “Sanrim”. Therefore,

general opinions of Boongdangs only reflected yangbans’ opin-

ions instead of the public’s opinions. Also, Boongdangs did not

require the parliamentary and election system to be formed,

because ruling parties and opposite parties were decided ac-

cording to King’s preference as we can see from North sect

dominating due to Gwanghae-gun’s favor.

We covered several similarities and differences between po-

litical parties and Boongdangs. Then what do we have to imple-

ment and refuse about Boongdangs’ characteristics to improve

current political parties? Probably, initial Boongdangs would be

appropriate, since they acknowledged other parties and func-

tioned as positive political groups. We should also make sure

that individuals of talent can participate in politics freely. More-

over, it would not be bad to adopt some parts of Tangpyung

system so that fair personnel policy could be carried on.

However, political parties’ opinions should not be decided by

a minority group as Sanrim which decided Boongdangs’ gen-

eral opinions. If so, public opinions cannot be reflected on the

policy decision-making process, and democratic form of politi-

cal parties cannot be ensured. Also, political parties should not

be allowed to pursue solely their own interests as North sect

and West sect which tried to monopolize politics. If they are

allowed to do so, they will soon start to lose their function of

mutually criticizing each other.

In this article, we have covered the political systems now and

then. Although some features of Boongdang were inevitable

consequences of the Joseon dynasty’s central system, we could

still take some advantages of Boongdang to further improve

political parties now. What I hope is that to sustain and devel-

op democratic society, we should critically accept Boongdangs’

characteristics.

Political parties back in Joseon are throwing questions at po-

litical parties today.

“Is the way current political parties are operating appropri-

ate?” ■

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P rofessor Armstrong analyzed the Korean diaspora and its recent existence of the past century. The late 19th cen-

tury migration in Korea, a unified nation at the time, is incomparable to the large scale movement that has occurred

in the past century. The Professor states that the fairly recent phenomenon Korean diaspora was an effect of Korea clash-

ing with modernity, and it is very dynamic and evolving. It is important for the Korean diaspora to establish their Korean

identity, because diaspora represent a geographically small nation, making a very definite impression to different nations

all over the world.

In addition, Professor Armstrong mentions that because Korea is a divided country, those some Korean diaspora, at

times, experience a confused sense of identity and ideals. During Korea’s civil unrest, surprisingly, the Koreans abroad

made a great effort in fighting and supporting parties as compared to those residing in Korea. For example, the commu-

nist party of Korea was mainly spearheaded by ethnic Koreans living in the Soviet Russia and China at the time. This shows

that although these people were not residing in their homeland, they still participated in voicing their opinions and legions,

being an integral part of their nation.

Today, while the ethnic Korean enclaves in Russia and China are now passed down to their fifth generation, Koreans in

the United States are now starting their second generation. Koreans abroad, although the minority and except those in Ja-

pan, surprisingly have created the trend of being in the middle class, with high levels of education and of Christianity. And I

believe that today the Korean diaspora still have bonds to its homeland even it has certainly been modernized in itself. For

example, on a personal level, my family lives in Los Angeles and still celebrates major Korean holidays, and we also make

annual visits to Korea at least once a year to see our extended family members. It is true that these Korean communities,

located all over the world, are thriving mainly due to a steady influx of money and people from Korea.

In one sense, the Korean culture is gaining momentum like wildfire all over the world. The Korean music industry, for ex-

ample, certainly gave definite impression to the American music industry. One example is the Wonder Girls opening for

one of America’s mainstream artist, the Jonas Brothers and Justin Bieber (all k-pop). Another example is Taeyang, a mem-

ber of Korea’s boy group Big Bang, whose single Wedding Dress achieved 3rd rank in the Netherlands’ Billboard charts (all

k-pop). All of these efforts were possible through the establishment of Korean-Americans with close connections in the

different music industry and their executives. For these foreign music industries’ ability and willingness to introduce Korean

pop culture and music into their respective nations portray their effort in promoting and sharing Korean culture.

The Korean diaspora has been crucial in Korean history, as in the civil unrest and political turmoil in the recent

centuries. The diaspora continues Korean history, contributing positive aspects and future opportunities in bringing fame

and even more recognition to the comparatively small nation of Korea. ■

Korean Diaspora

Opinions

By June S. Choi

SourcesArmstrong, Charles. "The Korean Diaspora," in The Koreas (London: Routledge, 2006), 89 - 130

GhostWriter. "Taeyang is Number 3… in the Netherlands?." Music. N.p., 1 Dec. 2009. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. < http://

www.allkpop.com/2009/12/taeyang_is_number_3_in_the_netherlands>

Lawlietta. "Wonder Girls to open Justin Bieber’s Valentine’s Day concert!."Concerts/Events. N.p., 13 Jan. 2010. Web. 1

Mar. 2010. <http://www.allkpop.com/2010/01/wonder-girls-to-open-justin-biebers-valentines-day-concert>.

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Opinions

Passion means the devotion about something that you

love. Perhaps the cleanest and most fiery emotion

of all, too much of it might be harmful. Passion resembles

a country that I know very well—Korea. I picked “passion”

as my title because it can’t be left out when introducing my

mother country, Korea.

One example that shows Koreans’ burning passion is

2002 Korea Japan World Cup. Although it was co-hosted

with Japan, we were blown away by the fact that it was the

biggest global event held in Korea ever since 1988 Olym-

pic Game. Summer of 2002 was hot enough because of

the weather, but it really burned with Koreans’ excitement

about the games. When Korea made it to the semi-finals,

we all became one. For the first time in soccer history,

Koreans all wore red shirts, sang songs in one voice, and

held up cards or big flags, burning off the passion. At that

time, Korea was just an Asian country between China and

Japan. However, foreign press was surprised by the Korea’s

performance. Korea was hidden behind the spotlight on

Japan, but Team Korea showed more than expected. But

Koreans did not only show great soccer skills. What made

people around the world fascinated were Koreans who

became one under the motto “dreams do come true” and

their passion—the passion that tied them together to sup-

port the soccer team.

However, this passion is not only shown during specific

times. Koreans keep that passion deep down their daily

lives. Even now when the economy is flourishing than

before, Korea is one of the countries that rise the earliest

and go to bed the latest. Passion is melted in the diligence

of Koreans in New York who sleeps as they see the morn-

ing star and rise as they see the morning star. Korean dads

working late, Korean moms so bold, Korean students giving

up their youth to study all night; these show how Koreans

are passionate in daily lives.

Koreans’ passion has been often misunderstood as

ignorance or impatience. Some foreigners who are not

familiar with such ferventness have these misconceptions.

However, I would like to tell them, and even Koreans, that

the burning passion is what Koreans are made up of. That’s

who we are, and that what makes us Koreans. ■

Passion of KoreanBy Elaine Seoyoung Pak

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Opinions

Being a HIFCO member makes you look at historical

facts. I now stop by, or even go back to take a closer look at

posters, pamphlets or advertisements related to Korea. I never

thought history would attract me so much before I joined HIF-

CO. But after I participated in few projects, I was fully drawn to

what HIFCO was trying to achieve. I realized this when I visited

the National Museum of Korea. There, I experienced the di-

lemma that Korea is going through while trying to promote our

culture and history.

I visited the museum after I took the AP World His-

tory exam. (Unfortunately, I have “post-exam-obsessions”

that make me relate everything to the test I just took. I think

it is annoying because if I had studied with that much of an

obsession, I would easily get perfect grades on all my exams.) I

started to read through all the dynasties and countries labeled

in the timeline and found out that some of these names did

not match those of what I had studied. So, I searched for these

names in dictionaries and books. I found out that some of the

names were not standardized. For example, 고려 could be

either “Koryo” or “Goryeo.” Koreans might notice this and real-

ize that they are the same, but what about foreigners? Can they

understand that both “Koryo” and “Goryeo” mean same dy-

nasty? “Goryeo” seems closer to the original Korean pronuncia-

tion, but “Koryo” might be easier for foreigners to pronounce.

Should we go for “Koryo,” or “Goryeo?” The questions were

applicable not only for English names for our dynasties, but also

for other cultural items as well.

Another story is about 막걸리, a traditional alcoholic

drink that has these days become a rising trend. Few days ago,

I read an article about English names for 막걸리. The govern-

ment has decided to call 막걸리 “Drunken Rice,” so that our

traditional drink would appeal to people around the world.

However, many Koreans resisted and petitioned the decision

because they thought the name should be 막걸리 in other

languages, too. Others argued that 막걸리 could be too hard to

pronounce for foreigners. They thought a name that could be

pronounced easily would be advantageous in a global market.

So everything comes down to how we can effectively

help more people understand Korea better. Keeping the Kore-

an identity versus globalizing—a tough dilemma lies on the path

of letting more people know about Korean culture and history.

To make other people care, we would have to sacrifice one or

the other. But all together, this shows that a lot of Koreans do

care about the issue. Looking on the bright side, the question

would never have come up if Koreans were not interested in

presenting Korean history and culture internationally. Now we

only have to decide on which value to keep: is it nationality or

internationality? The dilemma will continue until we reach the

best solution. Before then, let’s keep in mind that we are going

through this trouble for one reason: we want people to care

about what we think is important. Let’s not forget that we are

all after one goal. ■

What it takes to Make PeoPle Care

By Sa Yon Yun

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Outside Viewpoints

Historical Crisis, Korean CrisisProf. Kyung Cheol Ju

What does it mean to study history?

I take time to pose the question because the

quality of history education in Korea today has fallen to

new, terrifying lows. That is to say, by asking this, I wish to

point out that if students continue to study in this lane,

there may be real reason to worry about Korea’s future.

Now let’s go ahead and say what everybody

knows yet nobody says out loud. There are many social

studies electives, but neither schools nor individual stu-

dents like to choose world history, because there’s too

much to memorize, rendering the subject a bad invest-

ment when it comes to entering the college of one’s

choice. Amazingly, Korean history is fast falling from its

previous status of mandatory subject. Now the only

people who study Korean history are those who wish to

go to Seoul National University. Frankly, it’s something of

a luxury to tell these kids hell-bent on matriculating into

good schools that they really should study their own cul-

tural history, good college or no. One way or the other,

students today know less than nothing when it comes to

history.

It doesn’t kill you to be uninformed of your

cultural background. What’s the problem with not know-

ing about what’s done and gone? It’s true. If you think

about it, it might even be easier to shake off the fetters of

the past and stride on toward a shining new future. But is

it?

History can be said to be a collective memory.

Let’s think of it as a form of memory. Imagine that you’ve

been in a car accident and have gotten amnesia. You

wake up in your hospital bed with no idea who you are.

The people standing above you say they’re your father,

your mother, your sister, but how are you to know that?

You draw a blank when you try to remember what

you did ten days ago, let alone five, ten years before. If

this happens, you lose your sense of who you are. Your

identity fades; you lose contact with your closest friends;

there is really very little you can do. If you think about it,

you realize that who you really are is who you remember

yourself to be.

History is the collective memory shared by a

given group of people. It is what tells us who we are as

a people and a society, where we’re at, and where we

should be headed. Without this memory, without our

history, we lose our sense of self and become brain-dead

creatures akin to zombies. This is what a history does.

Meanwhile, world history provides the cultural frame-

work in which we may ground ourselves. Through world

history we learn how the world and its peoples came

to be. Today, Korean society must deal with the entire

world, mingling with people from many different cultural

backgrounds. Therefore, ignorance of how these others’

respective cultures developed means falling behind in the

rat race. Ignorance of ourselves and the world we live

in—that is the dismal future we face.

History is something we can live without. But

to live ignorantly is to live a third-class life. Imagine that

you become a businessperson and it so happens that you

must converse with your sophisticated foreign counter-

part. Five minutes into the conversation, you finish sizing

up your new partner. You can tell, for instance, whether

the person possesses wit and intellect, or if he or she

is, at heart, nothing more than an empty-headed pup-

pet. What creates that spark of intelligence is the many

threads of lives that make us who we are—in short, our

history. Education today is turning the next generation

into zombies, empty “tin cans.” It’s the tragedy—or per-

haps the comedy—of the Korean education system that

the result of our students’ hard work is that they become

carefully cultivated imbeciles.

I don’t want to force history, Korean or other-

wise, upon students who have things hard like preparing

for the college entrance exams. I know this is unrealistic.

But what they do have to know is that there is a severe

deficiency in their current academic diet. That way the

gaping holes in their education may be filled, even later

on. They should know, at least, that it is problematic not

to know whether the French Revolution was in the 15th

or the 19th century, who Kangxi Emperor and Yong-

zheng Emperor were, and which countries they ruled.

I say this not only because I am a professor of

history. Many others say the same: the reason so many

students are so ignorant and incompetent today is the

conspicuous lack of knowledge.

So the first thing to do when you get to col-

lege? Read a history book. ■

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A t least in terms of cold war policies, South Korea

and (West) Germany can be said to share a lot.

Both countries known for their miracles, the Han and the

Rhine miracle, were heavily funded by US global expan-

sion policies and largely benefited from favorable world

markets for exports as well as from a readily available and

diligent domestic labor force. Most Germans, however,

know less and perceive (S.) Korea as still a divided coun-

try, which is famous for its high-tech products of large S.

Korean conglomerates and S. Korea’s increasing success at

international sports events. This paper is a more detailed

insight into the uniqueness of S. Korea, its’ peoples culture,

lifestyle and thinking.

S. Korea is crowded, commercialized and fast-paced. The

sheer amount of people that reside in the city of Seoul

and the fast-paced and professionally serviced almost 24/7

consumption opportunities that one can find in almost

every corner with endless clothing shops, restaurants and

Western style coffee shops is bewildering. Visitors looking

out for exotic Asian buildings or customs may struggle to

push themselves through American style high streets filled

with young credit card armed and Western style clothes

wearing crowds of S. Koreans.

Except for the European style restaurants or luxury

brand stores; Western influence in S. Korea is strongly felt

US American. Many S. Koreans still understand the West

in terms of US culture and if the West becomes the new

home, it is often sought for in the US. The Korean Diaspo-

ra in the US is huge, US sports are popular in S. Korea and

many S. Korean universities are staffed with US professors

or Korean US graduates. Tens of thousands of American

soldiers are still on duty in S. Korea, American English and

its’ syllabus are taught in most schools, traffic and car sys-

tems and many cities look like at least partly copied from

the US.

Ignoring the diversity of religious movements in S. Korea,

one is astonished how assimilated everything including

the people are. People’s fashions, cars, hair cuts, people’s

consumption habits and leisure activities, all of these seem

in tune with everyone else and people too much out of

the middle are rarely seen. S. Korea is also one of the most

ethnically homogenous societies in the world and despite

the relatively many foreign brides, foreign labors and Eng-

lish teachers that enter S. Korea annually; it is rather dif-

ficult to see foreigners passing on the street. A European

or Anglo-Saxon multiculturalism and acceptance of mul-

ticulturalism seems long way to go in this very ethnic and

blood-conscious society. Even some foreigners of Korean

descendent do not feel treated equally and dark skinned

people may find a stay in S. Korea more challenging than

Caucasian looking people.

S. Koreans are impatient, ambitious and passionate. They

often hurry and visitors get the the impression that many

things have to be done urgently. One also gets the feeling

that S. Koreans like to be the number one in almost every-

thing they do. Famous schools or universities promise to

nurture world leaders and stores are often the ‘best’ in this

and that. Even if not always achieving the desired outcome,

this ‘giving-your-full-heart’ and ‘fighting-till-the-end’ attitude

of many S. Koreans has brought them to the top at the

world. For instance, S. Korean students are often leading in

South Korea Seen Through the Eyes of a German

Holger Preut

▲ 북적이는 도심의 모습

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world study performance surveys, S. Koreans have formed

the second largest protestant missionary movement

worldwide, and much of the large vessels ship industry has

shifted to S. Korea where ships are built in amazing pace

and still in good quality. Indeed, many German companies

would die for the type of workers you can find in S. Korea

working on average almost twice the official work hours

a week without receiving much extra benefits employees

are used to in Germany.

S. Koreans are very hospitable, warm hearted and af-

fectionate people once you get to know them, once the

ice is broken. Because of historical oppression by powerful

neighbors, little interaction with foreigners during the years

of isolating ‘Hermit Kingdom Policies’ and often strong

holding beliefs among S. Koreans that (foreign looking)

foreigners can not speak Korean or understand Korean

culture, S. Koreans tend to distrust or ignore, may find it

uncomfortable or simply are too shy to interact with for-

eigners for long. Nonetheless, with the huge popularity of

studying English some Caucasian looking people may have

found themselves exposed to ‘English friendships’. As Cau-

casian are often taken for granted as (American) English

natives and unable to converse in Korean, foreign students

of the Korean language can also find it difficult to practice

local language.

S. Korean as also observed, generally do not interact

much with strangers, even other S. Koreans. They spend

most time with their ‘in-groups’. Restaurants are almost

always filled with people who share passionate dinner and

drinking rounds with work colleagues, family members,

school or university friends, or home town friends. The

group size extends especially in churches and when the

nation becomes the group symbol. Largely unwelcome in

Germany, abundant national pride and patriotism is easily

exhibited among S. Koreans.

In S. Korea, status, appearance and beauty are very im-

portant. S. Korea is a very Confucian society and knowing

someone’s age and social position is crucial for properly

addressing that person. Koreans often know ‘who they

are’ and the old generation, people with good family

backgrounds or good education make major decisions

for the better or the worse. Public mirrors can be found

in subways stations, elevators and even mountain parks.

Women often perfectly groom themselves and with Cau-

casian looks, locally meaning small faces, big eyes; big noses

and small cheek bones, being trendy, plastic surgeries rates

especially among young women are very high. Good ap-

pearance is combined with good behavior and right speech

especially when addressing upwards. Although for a Ger-

man formal language is nothing new, observing S. Koreans

interacting in such highly sophisticated forms of official ad-

dressing and behaving can be interesting but also perplex-

ing. A new arrival foreigner may easily be worried about

insulting a S. Korean if not properly told how to behave. As

S. Koreans have a strong sense of what ‘the other eyes can

see’ they are often opt for public harmony and respectful

behavior especially in front people of higher rank. This may

have also led inevitable to a double standard, a public and

the private, culture. S. Korean cyber space, for example,

is used for anonymous ‘free-mind’ speech where fiercely

critical and aggressive dialogues can be found.

Gender division of tasks and values between differ-

ent genders is very strong in S. Korea. Girls often have

(to have) pink as their favorite color and blue for boys.

Women universities are common, women spend hours

together in coffee shops or cooking for festive days while

groups of just men having a night out together can easily

be seen anywhere. S. Korean society is strongly matrilineal

and although ‘female power’ is on the rise, the dominance

of male power can be felt in many aspects of Korean life.

The state welfare system provides German families with

a sense of security installed from the ‘outside’. In S. Korea

welfare is expected to come from the ‘inside’, from the

family. Especially mothers try to find all kinds of means

to secure the family’s well-being. Most often well-being is

sought through the education of children and fortunes are

spent on private tutoring or short-term English learning

oversea stays in Anglo-Saxon countries. Despite being a

very child-loving culture, parents’ insecurity feelings have

pushed child education to extremes. Whereas young

German students finish studying in the early afternoon, S.

Koreans fill almost their entire day with all kinds of after

school classes for learning English, Chinese characters,

piano, math etc. Whilst Germans pave their career paths

through multiple ways that also circumvents university

education, university level study and the passing of exams

has historically meant a main path to advancing in S. Korean

society.

S. Koreans are fond of many things Western. Classical

music of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart are taught and per-

formed in many venues, and European style restaurants

and products are increasingly popular. And yet, despite

the still prevailing idea that ‘the West is still the best’, one

can sense that Koreans also recognize Western culture as

something threatening to their own cultural foundation.

Although, as in the old East Asian fashion, Western ideas

and technology have been borrowed, changed and domes-

ticated here in S. Korea, the spirit in S. Korea is basically still

very East Asian. ■

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The Oldest And the BestWon Jeong Min

I tend to attend all the functions related to Asia when

I have enough time. There, I observe how each country

organizes and promotes its events and the reaction of

Chileans.

I attended a seminar about Korea hosted by a college.

During his speech, the speaker said that Korea, through-

out history, has been living under constant influence of

Japan and China, and therefore cannot solve the division

problem without the help of influence of the two nations

even today. The speaker claimed himself as an expert on

Chinese culture, but repeatedly listening to the phrase

"The influence of China and Japan" was insulting. The fact

that he did not consider Korea itself at all during his speech

made me wonder why a man wanted to study someone’s

country with such perspectives.

I heard that professors of various majors were going

to talk about Korea in a Asian history class. So I gave told

them that I would like to learn the advanced Spanish of

professors and asked if I could participate in it. A professor

who had lived in Japan brought pictures of Korea that he

took and explained how China and Korea had their own

printing press before Gutenberg. He also talked about the

Japanese Invasion, saying it was, on the bright side, a step to

modernization, and on the dark side, a period of suffering

for Koreans.

A professor who majored in geography mentioned "Sea

of Japan" countless times despite the fact that the lecture

topic was about Korea. After the class was over I went

over to him and hinted that it was "The East Sea" and not

"Sea of Japan." His response was, "Oh, right." I thought that

a logical reason why he thought the sea should be called

Japan's would have been much better than an indifferent

"Oh, right."

Another professor-also a famous economist, stated that

the start of Korea's economic development all began from

Japan. He said Japanese Invasion began from 1905, and af-

ter 50 years of colonizing, Japanese left factories and other

industries behind, which Koreans used during the develop-

ing process. According to his opinion, Korea's development

after the Japanese Invasion was the result of the effects of

Shintoism and Buddhism. When I told him that Shintoism

had nothing to do with Korea, his answer was that I was

the ignorant one. He also denied my pointing-out that Jap-

anese Colonization was from 1910 to 1945 by answering

that basically the history itself seems like a colony to him.

In 2004, BBC internet introduced Yulsan, Kyung-sam

Province (a city in Korea) as having the historical sites and

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evidence of first whale fishing in human history. Also,

there are countless historical evidence in Korea that shows

our ancestors performed the first rice farming, made the

first boat and went to hunt whales, and made arch-stone

graves and slant-lined pottery. What's more? We invented

the world first printing press, rain gauge (Chuk-woo-Gi),

an iron-clad battle boat shaped like a tortoise (Geo-buk-

seon), and during the 20th century, we have made many

world-first inventions in various fields.

But in reality, when we ask foreigners about Korea, very

few people know anything about the country. A few years

ago, a toll in Chile confirmed that Korea's image was re-

stricted to economic development, North and South divi-

sion, Chile Korean town, technology, and Tae-kwon-do. But

even those who know about the partition have a difficult

time telling the South and the North apart. The newspa-

pers are ignorant about the fact the Korea has developed

the first vaccine for H1N1 or that Korea has invented the

first marine plant construction main technology. However,

they are aware and constantly report, the dangers of

North Korean missiles.

We can't force foreigners to view and understand Korea

the way we do. Many foreigners actually find Korea and

its culture in places where Koreans least expect them to.

When I first saw Andres, a student in Korean culture class,

I was surprised by his appearance. A little chubby boy

with many piercings came right up to me and said "I really

want to participate in this class." Surprised and pleased, I

watched him carefully throughout the semester, and sur-

prisingly, he was a fantastic student.

Allehandro, another student listening to Korean culture,

always dresses in black. He enjoys reading Japanese comic

books, and while he was reading he encountered some

Korean movies--which eventually led him to participate

in this class. He always wears black manicure and black

eye shadow, which, to be frank, gave me goose bumps on

the first day of class. But he received the top grade in the

midterm exam and sometimes brings Korean movies with

Spanish subtitles to ask me if we can watch it during class.

Another student, Padro, saw Lee Ha-Nue, Miss Korea

2007, on Youtube and became interested in Korea.

I can never know what the students that I teach think

about Korean culture and I probably never will. But my

goal is to teach them about Korea in the most objective

way possible and to help them understand Korea by heart.

We, Koreans, tend to think that many foreigners are well

aware of Korea. I've met many people who compliment

the development of Korea while calling the East Sea "Sea

of Japan." I've also met people who have serious discus-

sions about the partition problem of Korea, while they

actually have no idea which Korea is which.

In the G7 conference held in Berlin in 2007, United

States vice-president Mr. Gore said, "The printing press

was first invented by Koreans, but it was the German

printing press that influenced the world." It is a time for

self-reflection. But before reflecting back and thinking

about how we have failed to develop and care about our

culture, we need to think about how we have failed to

even acknowledge the world that the first printing press

was indeed invented in Korea. ■

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Finally, this is the end of our magazine, which seemed like endless.

Sometimes it was difficult to handle both school works and magazine work together. But looking back upon the last

few months of this project, we are sure that we have grown a lot. The historical facts which we knew vaguely became

bit more clearly, our culture and history are now friendlier than before. And this surely was our honor to have this

opportunity to share our history with other people.

We are not good writers, but if one person can have interest or know the truth of Korea’s history, it would be our

pleasure for sure.

We want to say thank you to everyone who helped us to publish this magazine.

Firstly, thank you to our parents who supported us always. Also, we thank Ju Chang Wook, a senior, for helping us to

grasp some idea about magazine.

We thank Gymboree, The Shilla, Korean Society of Traditional Culture and Living, and PMC Production for support-

ing us financially. Also, we thank Baek Eunsil and the president Song Seung Hwan for interviews.

We are so thankful to have members of HIFCO with us.

Lastly, thank you to everyone who read this magazine to the end.

This magazine is just the start to promote Korea. We are going to do our best until every person of this world can

know Korea better and correctly.

Thank you.

Final Remarks

Editor in Chief Do Eon Lee

Translator in Chief Ye Yun Jee

Layout in Chief Soon Myeong Yoon

Editing Team Kim Myung Sun, Jang Suk Jun, Mhin Kyeong Hyun, Choi Se Hun, Shin Yeon Jae, Woo Chang Gyun,

Woo Ju Hyung, Lim Hye Song, Bae In Hae

Translation Team Kwon Sun Hyang, Kim Ji Eun, Yeo In Young, Ryu Jeong Min, Choi Jae Hun, Kim Yeong Eun, Kim

Min Seong, Lee Jang Won, Park Ji Yeong, Cho Se Yeon, Cho Hyup, Lee Kyung Min, Park Seo Young

Layout Team Kim Suyup, Kwon Ki Yeon, Jang Hye Eun, Kim Ji Yoon, Park Seung Eun, Choi Kyung Rok

Article Team Kim Myung Sun, Jang Suk Jun, Mhin Kyeong Hyun, Choi Se Hun, Lee Je In, Professor Ju Kyung Cheol,

Holger Preut, Professor Min Won Jeong, Lee Do Eon, Chung Se Yong, Ahn Hee Sup, Hong Ae Young, Hong Sae

Mi, Ko Dambi, Choi Hyun Jin, Bae In Hae, Yun Sayon, Han Ji Yeong, Lim Min Hyuk, Choi Hyo Ju, Park Seo Young,

Jung Byung Hun, HanIl High School

Interview Baek Eun Sil, Song Seung Hwan

Supporters Gymboree, The Shilla, Korean Society of Traditional Culture and Living, PMC Production

Supervisor Bae Jin Hee (Daewon Foreign Language High School World History Teacher)

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hifco magazine ver. 1 _eng

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