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On the one hand, the active exchanges among East Asian nations are drawing the nations closer. On the other hand, we are also seeing the Northeast Asia Project and other exclusivist research trends geared toward centralizing the history of a given nation. To tackle this disturbing development, there is a need for frequent academic exchanges among East Asian scholars. On October 29, the Northeast Asian History Foundation and the Dankook University Institute of Oriental Studies co-hosted just such an event: an international conference on the theme "Origins and Exchanges among East Asian Civilizations". The conference paved a new path for research on the history of East Asian civilizations.

On the topic of the origin of the Korean civilization and its exchanges with neighboring cultures, Professor Mong-ryong Choi (Seoul National University) presented a paper entitled "Pluralism of the Origin of Korean Culture." The paper compares the cultural relics recently found and surveyed on the Korean Peninsula with those of neighboring cultures, stressing the importance of looking at the diverse origins of Korean culture by time period. Choi highlights the pluralistic origins of Korean culture, pointing to how the cultural relics recently discovered in Korea exhibit similarities to those found in the three northeastern provinces of China, Mongolia, Siberia, and the Amur River region. In "Study of the Neolithic Culture on the Korean Peninsula and Its Exchanges with Neighboring Cultures", Director Suk-jeong Sin (Research Institute for Cultural Properties of the Han River) examines the cultural exchanges between the Korean Peninsula and neighboring nations during the Neolithic Period by comparing the studies undertaken by South Korean and North Korean scholars. Sin focuses on the z-pattern pottery that links the Korean Peninsula to Liaodong and Liaoxi and sheds light on how the Korean Peninsula had been engaged in cultural exchanges since the Neolithic Period with Northeast China as well the Russian Far East, which are considered two regional crossroads.

Traces of cultural exchanges among Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and Mongolia

Regarding Northeast China, Cho Bin-bok presented a paper entitled "Study of the Formation of the Cultural Development Stage in the Liaoxi Region and Cultural Successions and Exchanges before the Han Dynasty". The paper shows that while there had been a relationship of cultural succession with the Lower Xiajiadian culture—the early Bronze Age culture of the Liaoxi region, this relationship was severed from the Upper Xiajiadian culture onward. The exchanges with neighboring cultures are organized into three time periods and thus analyzed. Jong-o Baek, the discussant, pointed out that the Chinese academia as of late is making excessively detailed subdivisions in culture-related studies and took issue with the theory of a Liaohe civilization. In response, the presenter said it is highly possible that the Hongshan culture and the Liaoxi culture (at the Lower Xiajiadian culture stage) were in the early stages of a civilization, which comes to show to more extensive research by Korean and Chinese scholars in required on the topic.

In his paper "Origins and Exchanges among East Asian Civilizations: Liaodong Region" Mun-Sik Ha (Sejong University) analyzes the Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures—primary level cultures—of the Liaodong region to determine the region's civilizational stage, focusing on the stone cairn tomb, dolmen, and Liaoning bronze dagger as the region's characteristic cultural traits. The paper also compares the region's culture with the Hongshan culture of the Liaoxi region and points out that the geographical and environmental differences between the two regions make it difficult to compare the two regional cultures using the same standards. Lee Jong-su (Dankook University) presented a paper entitled "Origin and Exchanges of the Songnen Plain civilization". The paper focuses on the fact that the area had exhibited unique cultural characteristics since the Neolithic Age. Lee designates the Songnen Plain region as a "culturally autonomous zone" and points to how the region engaged in exchanges with neighboring cultures.

In his paper "Origin and Exchanges of the Civilization of the Japanese Archipelago" Miyamoto Kazuo (宮本一夫, Kyushu University) points to how the introduction of rice cultivation and irrigation farming to Japan marked the beginning of the Japanese civilization. He traces how wooden farming tools and equipment were introduced to Japan from a culture on the Korean Peninsula using pattern-less pottery. He also discusses China's transition from sorghum cultivation to rice cultivation, and how rice cultivation was transmitted via the Shandong Peninsula to the Korean Peninsula and via the Korean Peninsula to the Japanese Archipelago. Cheong-gyu Lee asked whether agriculture is a necessary and sufficient condition for a civilization and also whether there was evidence that rice cultivation techniques had indeed been transmitted to Japan via the Shandong Peninsula and the Liaodong Peninsula. Given that there is no proven evidence as of yet, there is room for further research on the matter.

N.A. Kluyev (Russian Academy of Sciences) presented a paper entitled "Primorsky Krai's Path to Ancient Culture/Civilization". The paper shows that the stone coffin tomb was introduced to Primorsky Krai from Korea and China and that the region also had an underfloor heating culture similar to Korea's. The paper also points out the significance of the research findings in Primorsky Kri on Balhae history and the importance of Korea-Russia joint surveys and research. Kim Jae-yun started a discussion on the reasons why bronze and iron cultures seemed to have sprung up almost simultaneously in Primorsky Krai. It is a topic that appears to require further research.

In his paper "Anthropology of Northeast Asia's Archeological Races" D. Toman (National University of Ulan Bator) shows that there are significant morphological differences between the different races of the different historical time periods of Central Asia. During the Neolithic Age and the Early Bronze Age as well as the Xiongnu period, there were Caucasians and/or people exhibiting both Mongolian and Caucasian morphological traits living in the Altay region, Xinjiang, and western Mongolia. The Baikal region and eastern Mongolia, however, were populated by people with distinct Mongolian anthropological traits. The first migration of Mongolians and Caucasians in Central Asia occurred toward the end of the Neolithic Age, and the migration of the races continued on until the middle Ages. Seok-bae Jeong, the discussant, raised issue with an apparent problem with the human skeleton data organized by historical time period for comparison, but overall, it was a helpful presentation that provided a scientific and systematized overview of the racial shifts over time in Northeast Asia.

Drawing closer to the truth of the ancient Korean civilization

The Chinese academia set forth the theory of a Liaohe civilization and claims that it is one source of the origin of Chinese civilization. As such, the interest in the ancient civilizations of East Asia is greater than ever. Bolstered by the large volume of recent archeological findings, we are seeing enhanced cultural periodization in Korea's neighboring regions. As an extension of this development, diverse theories are being proposed regarding the starting date of East Asian civilizations. However, there appear to be some limitations in the speed by which the Korean scholarly community is organizing and digesting the new findings and theories, and the development of a civilization theory concerning the Korean Peninsula is at a standstill. This conference served as an opportunity for an objective examination of the cultural developments in the neighboring regions of the Korean Peninsula and how these cultures interacted to give rise to and contribute to the development of ancient civilizations. The conference also provided clues to the truth concerning the ancient civilization of Korea. What we have learned at this conference will help us think of Korea's ancient culture not as an isolated unit but within the larger framework of the history of East Asia.