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NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION 05/2014 Newsletter

COVER STORY Daeseong Fortress and Its Lakes

Koguryo moved its capital from Jian (집안, 集安) to Pyeongyang in 427 A.D. Since then, Daeseong Fortress in the city of Pyeongyang remained the capital of Koguryo for 160 years. Surrounded in three directions by rivers (by the Daedong River to the east, ...

Toward Healing the Rift Between Korea and Japan Until modern times, there had been close interaction among Korea, China, and Japan, the three Northeast Asian countries in the common cultural sphere of Chinese characters and Confucianism. Even today, the possibility of the Northeast Asian Community as an economic, cultural, and value community is under active discussion. If history is any indication, Northeast Asia is better positioned to establish its identity as a community than any other region. In reality, however, the opposite is true. Northeast Asia has a long way to go, it is thought, before it can establish a regional community like the European Union or the ASEAN. Instead, Northeast Asia is seeing dangerously escalating tensions among the countries concerned in conflict over historical and territorial issues, and fearing that the conflict might spark armed confrontations. The three Northeast Asian countries have all seen changes of leadership recently, and their new leaders are all members of the post-war generation and of a

Written by Ha Woo-bong, Professor of History, Chonbuk National University

"Japan's Sovereignty Claims over Dokdo Are Not Valid" An international academic conference on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War was held on March 22, 2014. Sponsored by the Northeast Asian History Foundation and hosted by the Korean Society of Russian History, this conference was held under the theme of '110 Years Since the Russo-Japanese War' and attended by leading researchers of the Russo-Japanese War from Japan and Russia as well as Korea. Professor Oleg Airapetov at Moscow State University was in Korea to attend the conference, and on March 21 he met with Research Fellow Kim Young-Soo at the NAHF to talk about the Russo-Japanese War, Russo-Korean relations, and historical issues in Northeast Asia.

Interviewed and Coordinated by Kim, Young-Soo, Research Fellow, Northeast Asia/Dokdo Education Institute

북미아시아학회(AAS) 패널 발표와 도서전 동아시아사 보편성 속 한국사의 독자성 담긴 주제 선정을

NAHF Panel Session and Book Exhibition at AAS (Association for Asian Studies) Choose Topics Featuring the Uniqueness of Korean History within the Universality of East Asian History Despite its long history of expansion to the Western academia, Korean studies is admittedly still less developed than Chinese studies or Japanese studies, with a smaller number of researchers and relatively shallow depth of research. To overcome these limitations, the NAHF has endeavored to introduce our latest research results to the Western academia and spark interest in related research since its foundation.

Written by Lee, Seong-je, Research Fellow, Research Department

검정통과 일본 초등학교 교과서 전문가 토론회 일본 교과서 검정 전 단계부터 대응 필요

Expert Discussion on the Approved Primary School Textbooks of Japan Taking Action Should Begin Before the Approval of Japanese Textbooks On April 4, 2014, the Education Ministry of Japan (MEXT) announced the results of primary school textbook approval. In response, the NAHF held an emergency expert discussion the next day, on April 5, jointly with the education committee under the National Assembly. The purpose of this discussion was to review the descriptions of Korea, especially Dokdo, found in the approved textbooks, and to discuss the problems with the textbook descriptions, and outlook. And this discussion was held in a conference room in the National Assembly Hall, for the National Assembly education committee was also interested, amid the strained Korea-Japan relations over historical issues. Let me note first that since the approval-related materials were not made public, only the press releases and some materials that had been obtained with difficulty were available for the discussion, there was a limit to the depth of the review.

Written by Seo, Chong-chin, Head of Team 1, Dokdo Research Institute

『동아시아 평화와 초국경 협력』 평화와 성장의 공간 조성을 위한 초국경 협력

Peace in East Asia and Cooperation Beyond the Borders Cooperation Beyond the Borders for Creating a Space of Peace and Growth Politically, the border between nations confines the scope of the influence of power and sovereignty. Economically, it is a barrier to the flow of exchange of people and goods. In this sense, the border signifies separation and severance. At the same time, however, it is also a starting point for contacting and connecting with others.

Written by Kim Soo-han, Research Fellow, Incheon Development Institute

Jeon Bong-jun at the Center of Change in East Asia in 1894 This year marks the 120th anniversary of the Donghak Peasant Revolution, which is remembered as a great movement that arose to, internally, break down feudalism and, externally, defend the national sovereignty against imperialist Japan's aggression. And at the center of this movement was Jeon Bong-jun, the supreme leader of the Donghak Peasant Troops. Back in 1893, while followers of Donghak were campaigning to clear their executed founder's name, Jeon Bong-jun initiated the Anti-Japan, Anti-West Movement to reject the foreign influence, before he in January 1894 started a peasant uprising in his base in Gobu, Jeolla Province, and then in March of the same year initiated the Donghak Peasant Revolution in earnest by joining forces with Sohn Hwa-jung in issuing declaration in Mujang, Jeolla Province.

Written by Yoo Ba-da, Researcher, The Donghak Peasant Revolution Foundation

"Flowers That Never Fade": Pondering the 'Comfort Women' Issue Ever since March 8, 106 years ago, when 15,000 American female workers called for improving their poor working conditions and granting them suffrage, there has been dramatic improvement in the human rights and legal rights of women over the past century. Nevertheless, there are still women who end their life with unbearably cruel memories of the past and so much agony that they couldn't even talk to others about it. They are none other than 'comfort women' across the world, victims of the sexual slavery for the Japanese military.

Written by Cho, Youn Soo. Research Fellow, Research Department

What Is Historical Revisionism? One of the historical terms on the lips of people these days is the 'wicked thing' called revisionism. I say 'wicked' because this term has sometimes a good meaning and other times a negative connotation, depending on the context in which it is used, causing a lot of confusion.

Written by Kim Minkyu, Director, Office of Public Relations and Education

Daeseong Fortress and Its Lakes Koguryo moved its capital from Jian (집안, 集安) to Pyeongyang in 427 A.D. Since then, Daeseong Fortress in the city of Pyeongyang remained the capital of Koguryo for 160 years. Surrounded in three directions by rivers (by the Daedong River to the east, by the Habjang River to the west, and by the Jangsu River to the south), Daeseong Fortress is open only to the north for access by land. The most notable characteristic of Daeseong Fortress is that it contains more lakes than does any other castle in Koguryo. According to 15th-century literature, the Fortress has 99 lakes. But the number '99' here did not represent the actual number of lakes. It simply signified that there were many lakes. The lakes in the fortress were very effective defense, and they suggest that the people of Koguryo put their heads together and strived to reinforce the defensive power of Daeseong Fortress.

'한중일 영토교육 비교와 우리의 대응' 전문가 워크숍 미래 지향 영토교육 방법론 찾기

Expert Workshop on 'Comparison of Territorial Education Among Korea, China, and Japan and Our Response' In Search of Forward-looking Methodology of Territorial Education On April 2, 2014, an expert workshop on 'Comparison of Territorial Education Among Korea, China, and Japan and Our Response,' hosted by the Northeast Asian History Foundation's Northeast Asia/Dokdo Education Institute, was held at the NAHF Conference Room. At this expert workshop, about 20 related experts in territorial education from Korea, China, and Japan gathered together, presenting papers and having discussions on "Dokdo Education in Japan and Korea's Response" and "The Current Status of Territorial Education in Korea, China, and Japan."

Written by Kim, Young-Soo, Research Fellow, Northeast Asia/Dokdo Education Institute

Learning the Wisdom of 'Historical Reconciliation' from the Poles What is the most popular item in the public diplomacy of Korea? In the media, the Korean foods going global stand out. In the diplomatic field, however, the unmistakable leader is the New Village Movement. While flying to Warsaw, it struck me that perhaps historical reconciliation was to Poland what the New Village Movement was to Korea. In other words, historical reconciliation is something that the Poles can take pride in and teach other countries about.

Written by Choi, Woon Do, Office of Policy Planning, NAHF

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