Newsletter

The Jeongyu year of the rooster has arrived with 2017. Roosters often appear as messengers of good news in Korean historical documents such as Samguk sagi (三國史記), also known as the History of the Three Kingdoms, or Samguk Yusa (三國遺事), also known as the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms. I therefore hope this year will bring plenty of auspicious news to Korea as well as the Northeast Asian History Foundation.

As the political circumstances surrounding the Korean peninsula grow increasingly precarious in the twenty-first century, this year is likely to become one that requires Koreans to come up with creative responses for the sake of securing national interests. Academia and policies are more than ever in need of new modes of operation that are capable of learning lessons from history and forging friendly relations with neighboring countries.

Targeted Research and International Exchange of Research Findings

Since 2016 marked the tenth anniversary of the Northeast Asian History Foundation’s establishment, the following year will be devoted to preparing for a new takeoff. The Foundation’s goal for 2017 will therefore be the internationalization of its research findings and the pursuit of region-specific or issue-specific research on east Asian history and territorial, maritime affairs. The Foundation will seek to actively share its research findings with scholars based in diverse regions beyond northeast Asia. It will strive to raise the global competitiveness of the research it conducts and broaden its communication with scholars around the world. The Foundation will meanwhile continue to respond in the long run against distortions of historical facts committed by its neighboring countries and remain faithful to its original mission of spreading a horizontal perception of history that aims for peaceful co-existence.

Regarding research on Korea-China relations, the Foundation plans to formulate a Korean interpretation of the regional order in east Asia during the traditional era. To do so, the Foundation will conduct various on-site investigations and studies on relevant literature involving the history, culture, geography, and ethnicities related to former Korean territories in Manchuria and the area surrounding Baekdu Mountain. On the other hand, the Foundation will also analyze the changes China's growing influence has brought upon the regional order as well as the practice of historical research affected by Chinese policies toward border areas and ethnic minorities. Such analysis will serve as a basis for establishing policies to respond to changing practices.

Regarding research on Korea-Japan relations, the Foundation will aim to swiftly form a grasp on current trends in historical research and search for various ways to respond academically and policy-wise. To counter Japan's distortion of historical facts, the Foundation will also further its study of fundamental sources and conduct special research projects on historical issues between Korea and Japan. Regarding research on Dokdo, aside from offering more support toward special research projects, the Foundation plans to launch a comprehensive academic investigation for the purpose of building a system for research on source material.

To broaden international academic cooperation, the Foundation plans to strengthen its ties with various research institutes overseas to collaborate mainly on historical or territorial topics such as history and security, Sinocentrism, the Cold War and regional order, and maritime history. In addition, the Foundation will encourage its research fellows to share their research findings by participating and presenting at major academic conferences or submitting research papers to academic journals published in English.

Rebuilding the Archive

The Foundation plans to revamp its administrative and archival systems to make them better suit the purpose of forming academic and policy responses. Administrative practices will be further subdivided and specialized to be able to more efficiently support and manage research activities. Also, an archive focused on historical issues will be created to function as a hub for materials on history, territory, and territorial waters. Such materials will be shared as digital contents that can be used to research northeast Asian history and develop policies. The Foundation's website will be further recalibrated to broaden the range of sources related to historical issues available to the public.

Serving as a Leading Research Institute

The Foundation's educational and training center will continue to offer quality training programs for elementary, middle school, and high school teachers as well as students all over Korea to help them form an in-depth understanding of facts about Dokdo and east Asian history that are being distorted by neighboring countries. Extracurricular activities and programs related to history and Dokdo will also continue to be actively supported by the Foundation.

Meanwhile, efforts will continue in the new year to secure a budget to build the "Hall of Northeast Asian History." There are multiple reasons for pursuing the hall's construction, including the need to expand Dokdo Museum Seoul, cut back on rent, improve the Foundation's research environment, contribute to the revival of studies in the humanities, and add to the prestige of a research institute that represents South Korea in dealing with historical issues mainly involving China and Japan. The Foundation therefore sincerely asks all those involved in the cause to offer their keen support and cooperation.

The entire staff of the Foundation including myself will together strive to fulfill our duty as "guardians of history" to confront distortions of history committed by neighboring countries. We therefore hope you show constant attention and support toward the Foundation and wish this new year will bring much progress and peace to you all.

Thank you.

January 1, 2017

Kim Ho-sup

President, Northeast Asian History Foundation