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Kim Eun-kook, Honorary Research Fellow of NAHF

NAHF has unearthed Kraskino Castle from 2004 to 2018 since the establishment of the Goguryeo Research Foundation. The excavation of Kraskino Castle in the Maritime Province of Russia was started in the 1980s, centered on the IHAE FEBRAS(the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far-East, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences). The history of excavation is about 40 years to date. Recently, NAHF published 『The Kraskino Balhae Castle - 40 Years of Excavation』(2021) to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the excavation of Kraskino Castle, and summarizes the achievements of Korea and Russia. So I met Dr. Kim Eun-guk, an honorary researcher at NAHF, who led the excavation of Kraskino Castle and the compilation of the report.

Interviewer | Bae Hyun-joon, Visiting Researcher of NAHF Institute on Eurasian History

Q1. You participated in the excavation and research of Kraskino Castle from the time you were in the Continental Research Institute until you retired from NAHF. It seems that there are few cases of going abroad and digging artifacts. How did you get involved in the excavation? I wonder what led Korea and Russia to jointly excavate and research.

Kim Eun-kook

The first time I saw the remains of Balhae in the Maritime Province in 1993, the thrill is vivid at this moment. I was able to involve the excavation of Kraskino Balhae remains because of my relationship with Professor Kim Sung-hoon, the head of the Northeast Asian Institute at Chung-Ang University(former Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and the president of Sangji University) in 1990. Professor Kim was a practitioner of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Asia, investigating the agricultural situation of China and the Soviet Union, which were communist countries, and visited the Balhae remains that he was interested in. And he emphasized its existence and meaning through the media. On the other hand, Professor Kim has made efforts to conclude an agreement on excavation and investigation between the IHAE FEBRAS and the Northeast Asian Institute of Chung-Ang University. IHAE FEBRAS was the agency responsible for the excavation of remains in the Maritime Province. That was the year after I had just earned my master's degree in 1991. Since then, Professor Kim has changed the subject of the agreement to the Continental Research Institute and has begun to excavate the Balhae remains in the Maritime Province more actively. And I was involved in the excavation. The exchange with Russian researchers, which began at that time, has continued until 30 years later. These relationships have allowed me to organize the excavation of Kraskino Castle and have been the driving force behind the publication of the 40-year achievement of excavation in one book.

Q2. How do you select the excavation area in Kraskino Castle? And please introduce the characteristics and procedures of the excavation in Russia.

Kim Eun-kook

Kraskino Castle is in the Maritime Province, the territory of Russia. Therefore, it should be excavated according to the Cultural Heritage Protection Act of Russia. The excavation area can not be selected at will, and it is a principle to expand after the excavation area of ​​the previous year. Cultural Heritage Protection Act of Russia is what it retained in the USSR. We keep the rules from beginning to end. For example, we are strictly in the code until we dig up the topsoil layer and cover the land again, as well as sacrifice to the god of land. In Russia, administrative reports related to the excavation of the year must be submitted to the Moscow Academy of Sciences for examination to obtain permission for the following excavations.

So far, Korea and Russia have been excavated according to the way the Russian government permits. We dug up the soil in 10cm units, and we summarized the details every time the artifacts and structural traces of old architecture were excavated. The thread was installed in the shape of the section paper, and the level of the artifacts and structural traces were measured and recorded. And before and after we've taken the artifacts, we need to take a picture of the structural traces and write a report to unearth the lower floor. There were also many collisions with regard to slow progress, limited schedule, unstable weather, and how to excavate. However, we have shared a strong friendship with Russian scholars and we have been able to put the excavation of Kraskino Castle on track.

Q3. If you start excavate the artifacts, I think you'll have to stay in the area for quite a while. Is there any memorable episode when you unearth Kraskino Castle?

Kim Eun-kook

Usually, the excavation period is about a month. Kraskino Castle is located on the southern coast of Kraskino Village. To get there, you have to drive from Vladivostok for three hours. The Russian team has campsites for excavations set up before we arrive; they always did. You'll know if you see the excavation report. The campsite installed next to the river is for a total of 50 members of two countries to live in nature for a month.

In fact, the difficulties were in climate change, such as typhoons, floods, and terrible heat. In particular, a strong typhoon passed through the Maritime Province in 2013. Because of that, the river flooded and all the members had to escape the campsite. Fortunately, the rain stopped in a day, and the flooded river became a static level. So we were able to continue excavation. And then we unearthed the bronze mirror of Balhae. It was the fourth achievement in history since we began to unearth the remains of Balhae. The mirror showed all the members cheering. And we were very happy when we unearthed a camel statues made of bronze in 2015. The Kraskino Village has the energy of Ahn Jung-geun. Members who were delighted to call ‘Man-se’ as if Ahn Jung-geun were shouting. I remember them.

Q4. Balhae has existed for about 228 years. It lasted until the fall of the Georan in 926, after Daejoyeong founded the country in 698. When was Kraskino Castle built during the Balhae period? Is there any reason to specify that Kraskino Castle was built during the Balhae period?

Kim Eun-kook

Russian scholars thought that the time Kraskino Castle was used was the dongdangook period after the fall of Balhae. However, as NAHF and IHAE FEBRAS continued their joint excavation, it was confirmed that the castle was used from the time of Goguryeo, the previous period of Balhae. This is proved through the structural traces and artifacts that the two countries have investigated together.

Kraskino Castle historically compares its dates and so on. Based on 「Balhae」 of 『New Book of Tang』, this castle is considered 'Yanzhou(鹽州)' in the lower direction of the Dongkyeong Yongwonbu. There is a record that Balhae moved the capital from Sanggyeong to Dongkyeong between 785 and 805. And in 『Samguksagi』, there is a record that the distance of 39 stations from Silla Jeongcheon-gun to Seoseong-bu is 1170-li(里). This is an important basis for recognizing Kraskino Castle as Yanzhou Castle in Balhae. The Kraskino Castle was designated as Yanzhou by E.V. Shavkunov of the 1960s. He referred to the opinion of Palladii Kafarov: 'There may be an ancient navalbase in Posyet.' In addition, he confirmed this because the name of 'Yanqiu River' is similar to the name of 'Yanzhou'.

Q5. Is there a reason Kraskino Castle is located on the coast near the Tumen River flowing into the East Sea? And is there any remains that show the external exchange of Balhae?

Kim Eun-kook

The road through the site still serves as a bridge between Hunchun in China, major cities of Maritime Province in Russia, and North Korea. Yanzhou or Kraskino, is where the ocean meets the continent. It is the most dynamic place in the east of Balhae. During the Balhae period it had relations with Silla to the south, and with Tang and the Western Regions to the west. And it was the starting and arrival point that crossed the East Sea and exchanged with Japan. It was the intersection of all the roads, among the traffic routes in Balhae. It is the best location to serve as an international channel connecting continents and oceans.

In Kraskino Castle, remains related to western regions-northern regions were excavated: bones of two-humped camel, bronze two-humped camel statues, gold-clad beads, and vase-shaped Georan pottery. These clearly indicate that it was a connection hub between land route and sea route. The flat-shaped bottle found here was also found in Silla; this shows that Balhae and Silla interacted through the see route. And gonupan was found in Silla, Central Asia, and Mongolia, which tells us that these countries shared the same play culture. In addition, the porcelain excavated from Yue zhou yao, Ding yao, Zhangsha yao shows trade with Tang.

Q6. Balhae is known as the country built by inheriting Goguryeo. Do you see that aspects when you excavate and study the artifacts?

Kim Eun-kook

Yes, Balhae is the country that succeeded Goguryeo. The main axis of the member is the Goguryeo People, which also includes Mohe. The structure of Wengcheng at the gates, and Chi(雉) which is placed everywhere show the tradition of Goguryeo. The way to build ramparts with soil and stone was used to build castles since Goguryeo. The ondol in the residence is a traditional Goguryeo heating facility. The upper part of the well in the castle is circular, and the lower part is square. This means that the traditional construction technology of Goguryeo was succeeded to the Balhae period. The most excavated artifacts in Kraskino Castle are pottery. Most of them are Yunje pottery(made of a spinning plates or a spinning wheel), which inherited the tradition of Goguryeo. The Jidoomoon Giwa, which is patterned with fingertips instead of brushes, also show the tradition of Goguryeo.

Q7. Cases of excavation of one site for 40 years are rare in Korea and Russia. This seems to mean that Kraskino Castle is so important. What is the significance of Kraskino Castle in the study of the history of Balhae?

Kim Eun-kook

Since 1993, Korea and Russia have unearthed the Yanzhou Castle in Kraskino, which has become a stepping stone to establishing the history of Balhae. In particular, in the last 10 years of excavation, we have been able to identify stylobate made of stone. This is a clue to the division of the city of Balhae, and it has become a turning point in studying the remains of Balhae. And a cross-shaped road was found inside Castle. This confirms that Yanzhou castle is a distinctly divided capital city.

In addition, Kraskino Castle shows the dynamic exchange situation in Northeast Asia at the time. So in the 1990s, the Japanese excavation team intensively investigated Dongmoonji(東門址) to investigate Japanase Road(日本道), which symbolizes exchanges between Balhae and Japan. Recently, an archaeological team of China probed the interior of the castle and conducted investigations.

Meanwhile, in 2015, the soil layer of the entire Balhae period was exposed for the first time ever. By analyzing the charcoal collected from the soil, we were able to secure evidence that the castle was used from the time of Goguryeo before the Balhae. So we could confirm that the Balhae culture inherited Goguryeo. In the future, this will be used as an important data for the study on the management of Goguryeo in the East Coast and the Maritime Province. Through the individual artifacts mentioned above, we can look at the dynamic life of the Balhae people at a glance. Kraskino Castle is the most representative standard among the remains of Balhae distributed in each region. The soil and remains are a sample of chronicles historical facts and analyzes forms.

Q8. Please advise on the role of NAHF in the excavation and research of Kraskino Castle.

Kim Eun-kook

The excavation of Kraskino Castle has been over 40 years. I am proud that I have been able to unearth a remains for such a long time. This is the result of NAHF's generous support for the project to unearth the remains of Balhae. And thanks to the efforts of Russian scholars at the IHAE FEBRAS, which has been engaged in academic exchanges for 30 years. I hope these experiences will be a good example of the excavation of the remains of Balhae in East Asia. And we expect that it will be able to make a difference in the investigation of the Balhae remains in other areas.

The NAHF has put excavations in Kraskino on track. We still have a lot of work to do. Russian scholars are waiting for the NAHF's excavation team to arrive at the campsite of the excavation site in Kraskino, as it was one day in July every year. Last week, Dr. E.I. Gelman sent me the news that he received a good book published this time. He wanted to be with our passion for discovering the remains together. The agreement on academic research between NAHF and IHAE FEBRAS has become an old relationship.

Kraskino Castle has not only the history of Goguryeo and Balhae, but also the recent lives of our compatriots. It's a time capsule of our history. In the future, the excavation of NAHF's Kraskino Castle should be an opportunity to comprehensively examine the aspects of our culture in the Maritime Province. I hope that NAHF will be able to see the surroundings again at the Jeomjangdae(点将台) in Kraskino Castle. When we get there, we will see new images of ourselves in the south. Then, the story of the Balhae people who spread the status of the Haidong Shengguo to the continent and the ocean will be changed into wind of the field.