WEBZINE NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION

<2023 NAHF Forum> The Forum ‘The Dawn of the New Cold War Era and Clash of Civilizations’ was held The Northeast Asian History Foundation held the <2023 NAHF Forum> on August 24-25 at the International Conference Hall of the Korea Press Center with the theme of “The Dawn of the New Cold War Era and Clash of Civilizations”. NAHF stands for the Northeast Asian History Foundation. Today, the international society is witnessing deepening confrontations and conflicts that have weakened since the end of the Cold War. There are negative views regarding the current situation as a ‘New Cold War’, citing the ambiguity of the ideological conflict composition and the presence of nations in the gray zone, such as the BRICS countries. However, it is a reality that continental powers centered around China and Russia conflict with maritime powers centered around the United States. The continental powers are expanding their influence, particularly through China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union, while the United States is responding with its ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy’. China and Russia are promoting their own civilization discourses, the Community of Common Destiny for Mankind and Eurasianism, respectively, in order to make their global strategies successful. These civilization discourses are often referred to as ‘imperial discourses’ or ‘global discourses’ because they express their perspectives on how the world should be led in terms of civilization. Both of these civilization discourses assert that Chinese or Russian civilization should lead the world instead of Western civilization. Therefore, they are also referred to as ‘21st-century imperialism’, distinguishing them from the ideological conflicts of the Cold War era.

Kim Inhee, Director of the Korea-China Relations Institute, Foundation

How does geocultural imagination connect history and the future? Professor Tim Winter received his doctorate degree in sociology from the University of Manchester, UK. He is currently a scholar with a keen interest in heritage diplomacy, geocultural politics, and related fields, and he is affiliated with the National University of Singapore. Recently, he published 『The Silk Road: Connecting Histories and Futures 』 (Oxford University Press, 2022), in which he examined how nations today remember the Silk Road and how they bring it into political matters. In August of this year, he participated in the NAHF forum at the invitation of the foundation, where he presented a fascinating paper titled ‘Geocultural politics; civilization, internationalism, and world ordering across Eurasia,’ which received great attention.

Interviewee: Professor Tim Winter, National University of Singapore Interviewer: Lee Yoo-pyo, a Research Fellow at the Korea-China Relations Institute, Foundation

1947, Journey of Academic Investigation to Ulleungdo Island and Dokdo Island The Dokdo Museum opened a special exhibition titled 「1947, Journey of Academic Investigation to Ulleungdo Island and Dokdo Island」 on August 16, 2023. This exhibition marked the first special exhibition held by the Dokdo Museum since the museum expanded and moved to Yeongdeungpo. It consisted of materials related to the academic investigation of Ulleungdo Island and Dokdo Island, donated to the foundation by the Corean Alpine Club in 2021.

Kim Boyoung, a Curator at the Dokdo Museum, Foundation

Japanese Empire’s Control of the Press, Publishing, and Broadcasting During the 35 years of the Japanese colonial era, the Japanese Government-General of Korea exercised strong and systematic control over the media. They granted permits only to those media that complied with their governing policies, with laws specifically regulating media permits and media regulations. They used censorship to identify and punish media outlets and journalists that violated their own standards through administrative and judicial actions, and they forcibly closed media outlets and utilized them as propaganda for their benefit.

Park Yongkyu, Professor of Media, Film, and Advertising at Sangji University

『Wada Haruki’s Transcription of the Korean War』 Wada Haruki, an honorary professor at the University of Tokyo, is one of the world authorities in the field of history who is well-versed in international relations in Northeast Asia, including the history of the Soviet Union, Russia, China, the Joseon Dynasty, North Korea, and South Korea and has published pioneering works on a series of these topics. He has gained high recognition for his pioneering publications on the Korean War, commonly referred to as the ‘Joseon War’ in Japan. His book 『Transcription of the Joseon War』 (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten Publishers, 2002) has been published in Korea under the title 『Wada Haruki’s Transcription of the Korean War』 (translated by Nam Sang-gu and Jo Yoon-su, Chunga Publishers, 2023), and I would like to reflect on the significance of this book.

Kim Hakjun, Chair Professor at Dankook University

The House for the Dead, Goguryeo Mural Tombs Many people ponder about the afterlife. What happens when we die? Is there any life after death? Then, where do we go? How is life in the otherworld beyond this world? Will it be the same as now? Or will it be different from now? How is life in the otherworld beyond death determined? It’s definite from historical records that there was indeed speculation about life after death. It seems to have been generally accepted that there is a life of the otherworld beyond this world and that life is not too much different from that of this world. As confirmed by records and paintings, it was believed that human relationships and social order in the otherworld were similar to those of this world. In this regard, the murals of Goguryeo tombs are a valuable source of informing the life after death of the Goguryeo people and their perceptions and ideas about the world of the dead. Anak Tomb No. 3 with the ink writing epitaph in 357 is one of the earliest Goguryeo mural tombs. This tomb, including the passage to the tomb chambers for corpses, the front chamber, the left and right (east and west) side chambers, the tomb chambers for corpses, and an ambulant corridor, is well-known for its structure and murals that seem to depict a Goguryeo noble residence moved underground. In particular, the murals in the eastern and western side chambers attracted the viewer’s attention as they vividly depicted the features of a noble residence's main building and the building of guest rooms, respectively. The mural of the eastern side chamber of Anak Tomb No. 3 depicts a kitchen, a butcher shop, a garage, a stable, a cowshed, a well, and a mill, while the mural of the western side chamber depicts the tomb owner and his servants, as well as the tomb owner's wife and maids. It can be seen that the two side chambers serve as a representation of the real life of the Anak Tomb No. 3 owner and his wife in the main facilities of the residence where they lived during their lifetime.

Jeon Hotae, Professor of History and Culture at the University of Ulsan

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