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The Northeast Asian History Foundation and the Seoul Baekje Museum co-hosted the 2014 Korea-Russia joint conference on "The History of Balhae and Its Status in Korean History," which was held at the auditorium of the Seoul Baekje Museum from the 16th to the 17th of December 2014. This conference coincided with the opening of "The Culture of the Russian Primorye from Antiquity to Modernity" in Seoul, an exhibition that will continue through February 22, 2015 under the agreement between the Seoul Baekje Museum and the Museum of the Russian Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East. Featuring about 600 artifacts of history, archaeology, and culture excavated in Primorsky Krai from prehistoric to modern times, this exhibition is the largest cultural exhibition of Primorsky Krai ever held in Korea.

The Pan-East Sea Cultural Sphere of Primorsky Krai, and Balhae

Primorsky Krai is a region in the Pan-East Sea cultural sphere where the exchange of people and goods with the Korean Peninsula has been active since the prehistoric times of Korea. With the Duman River as the starting point, Primorsky Krai is connected to the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range in Korean history. It is also the backbone of Korean history, which spread from the origins in Mt. Baekdu and the Abrok River. During the Silla/Goryeo periods, Balhae, the Prosperous Country in the East, using these two crossroads, not only received the Chinese culture of the Southern and Northern Dynasties but also exchanged with the Northern nomadic tribes, including the Kitans and the Uighurs, and served Japan as the hub of exchange of continental and maritime culture. A country that inherited the heritage of Koguryo, Balhe was also the first country to be established in Primorsky Krai in medieval times. Unfortunately, however, after the fall of Balhae, the territory of Korean history stopped extending beyond Primorsky Krai and Mt. Baekdu. Therefore, it is possible to say that Balhae is the diaspora itself of the Korean people of Primorsky Krai and the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range.

From the time when Balhae fell until Primorsky Krai was placed under the influence of the Qing Dynasty, the displaced people of Balhae preserved Balhae's heritage in its entirety in a 'time capsule.' Primorsky Krai became Russian territory in 1860 and has remained so since. Even today, if we excavate the ruins of Balae, including the Yeomju Fortress of Balhae in Kraskino, we will find the relics of the 'Koryo-Saram' who lived in Primorsky Krai (this is how the Korean people who settled down in Primorsky Krai from the 19th century onward are referred to in Russia) just below the surface. If we dig 10 cm deeper, we are sure to find the relics of Balahe awaiting us. Even though close to a millennium has passed since the fall of Balhae, the Balhae sites in Primorsky Krai became home to the Korean people who came back to where the people of Balhae used to live. The Korean people who gathered in Primorsky Krai, past the Mr. Baekdu and the Abrok River and across the Duman River, played a pivotal role in the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range and Pan-East Sea culture, covering the continent and the sea, just as Balhae had done, until Primorsky Krai became what it is today.

It has been thirty years since the Kraskino Yeomju Fortress of Balhae was first discovered in Russia, and twenty years since Korea and Russia published a joint report on the joint excavation of the site. A conference was held in celebration over a two-day period, and it consisted of: Session 1 'Primorsky Krai and Balhae', Session 2 'The Current Status of Research on Balhae,' Session 3 'Challenges in Research on Balhae', and a general discussion.

Exploring Challenges and Directions in Research on Balhae

Session 1 featured presentations by the representative scholars of Korea and Russia who had led the joint excavation of the site over the last 20 years. The first presentation was '8th to 10th-Century Glazed Ceramics and Porcelain Excavated in Primorsky Krai' by the head of the Russian team E.Gelman (the Russian Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East). It was followed by 'Kraskino Balhae Fortress Excavation Results,' the presentation given by me as head of the Korean team, And an introduction to the 'Koksharovka' Balhae sites was made by curator Yoon Hyung-joon (National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage), in charge of the excavation. The three presentations in Session 1 were highly significant in that they have confirmed once again that the joint excavation of the Balhae site had continued to this day thanks to the close friendship and research exchange between Russia and Korea.

Session 2 was designed to review the status of Balhae studies in recent years, with a primary focus on 'Malgal.' Professor Han Kyu-cheol (Kyung Sung Univ.) gave a presentation on 'Malgal in the Histories of the Three Kingdoms and Balhae', Professor Jung Seok-bae (Korea National University of Cultural Heritage) 'The Elements of an Empire Found in Balhae's Culture', and Na Young-nam (Kyonggi Univ.) 'The Balhae People during the Liao and Jin Periods.' Some Chinese scholars often use Malgal as the ground of their clam that Malgal was an ethnic minority during the Tang Dynasty that played a central role in founding Balhae as a local regime. Professor Han Kyu-cheol's presentation refuted this claim and shed a new light on the significance of Malgal in the cultural stages of Primorsky Krai, showing the direction of Malgal studies ahead. Professor Jung Seok-bae's presentation, in connection with Professor Han's, made an empirical introduction to the elements of an empire that have been in place in Balhae, reestablishing the national status of Balhae.

Session 3 presented Balhae research projects that we would need to carry out in the future. 'Medieval Archaeological Sites in Northern Primorsky Krai' by museum director Yu.Nikitin (the Russian Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East) was followed by 'Balhae's Foreign Exchange and the Diversity of its Population' by Professor Kwon Eun-joo (Kyungpook National Univ.), and by 'A Review of Archaeological Materials Related to the History of the Displaced People of Balhae' by Professor Lee Hyo-hyung (Pusan National Univ.). Session 3 was focused on presenting ways to link literature as historical records to archaeological materials, so as to guide the future direction of research on the history of Balhae.

This conference had the theme of the status of Balhae in Korean history, and it was the opening event for the cultural exhibition of Primorsky Krai in Seoul. It was a highly significant reminder that it was time to put our heads together to build on the Korea-Russia joint excavation results so far to reestablish in Korean history the Balhae diaspora that had spread across East Asia.