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NAHF will celebrate its 15th anniversary on September 22nd. At the time of its establishment, the distortion of history of neighboring countries such as Japan's claim to sovereignty over Dokdo and China's Northeast Project emerged as a serious diplomatic issue. The Korean government and the people felt the necessity of a specialized research institute to cope with the distortion of history and the provocation of Japan on Dokdo. NAHF celebrates its 15th anniversary, knowing exactly our responsibilities and roles, and trying to leap forward for the future. So we invited Kim Yong-duk, the first President(current president of Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan). We talked with him about the background of the establishment of NAHF and the operation in the meantime, and asked him for advice on how NAHF could develop in the future.

President Roh Moo-hyun participated in the celebration. (2006.9.28.)

Lee Young-ho : Thank you for your time. To mark the 15th anniversary of NAHF's founding, we invited you. I would like you to advise us on how NAHF has been operated and what direction NAHF should go in the future.

I wonder about the process, background, and early status and role of NAHF. In 2003, China distorted the history of Goguryeo with the Northeast Project. So, on March 1, 2004, the Goguryeo Research Foundation was established. In 2005, the Shimane Prefecture Council of Japan passed the so-called Takeshima Day on February 22, and explicitly claimed the sovereignty over Dokdo. In March 2005, President Roh Moo-hyun ordered the establishment of a dedicated organization to systematically respond to the distortions of history by neighboring countries. Soon after, in April, The Right History Planning Group for the Peace in Northeast Asia was launched. In May 2006, Establishment and Management of the Northeast Asian History Foundation Act was passed by the National Assembly. This is an Act that integrates the Goguryeo Research Foundation and the The Right History Planning Group for the Peace in Northeast Asia and has been in a very difficult process for a year. After this Act was passed, it was approved for establishment on September 22, and it held the opening ceremony on September 28. The president took part in the celebration at NAHF that day. What I'm saying is what's in the official record. Tell us about the process of establishing.

Kim Yong-deok : To be honest, I never thought I would be offered a position as President. At that time, the director of the establishment preparation team was Kim Byung-joon, the National Policy Advisor of CheongWaDae, and the deputy director was Yoo Kwang-seok. In other words, this is a matter of the president's interest. In addition, the National Policy Advisor of CheongWaDae is the director of the organization. How great is this? I was Dean of the Seoul National University - Graduate School of International Studies at the time. My friend, Ambassador Kim Seok-woo, said, "A junior named Yoo Kwang-seok wants to meet you." So I met Mr. Yoo, and he tells me about NAHF. I said, “I’m doing a good job of being the dean of the Graduate School of International Studies, and I have no reason to go there.”

Anyway, I started to learn about NAHF from then on. The direction of NAHF, which Cheong Wa Dae devised, was in line with my intention. I saw the pending problem about the history of Northeast Asia as a special situation in the region. So I've thought that expanding it to universal experiences of history all over the world would be better than trying to solve the problem in a hurry. I thought that was a way to overcome historical conflicts, establish peace, and resolve the ending problem. If we look at the issue of war responsibility, the issue of sexual slavery victims for the Japanese imperial army, and so on, we can turn them into universal issues of humanity. That way, we can draw international consent and support. I thought that would be the primary goal of the NAHF. And in fact, historical problems in Northeast Asia are sharply confronted, and rarely solved. So at least in terms of local issues, we started with the aspiration that we should become a prestigious research institute both at home and abroad.

Lee Young-ho : In the actual progress, research and strategy seem to have been the topic. What was more important, either long-term, comprehensive research and analysis, or systematic and strategic development of policy. These two issues have been controversial over the last 15 years, and I wonder how you distinguished them in the early days.

Kim Yong-deok : At the time of its launch, there were research team 1 studying history issues between Korea and Japan, research team 2 studying history issues between Korea and China, and research team 3 studying territory and territorial sea issues(it was officially opened as the Dokdo Research Institute after that). The director of the strategic planning office was assigned by the director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In fact, I think it is difficult to achieve both research and strategy at the same time. If we respond emotionally to the problems that have arisen during the invasion of imperialism, other countries may see us as making a fuss and stubbornness. I didn't want NAHF to look like that, so I thought a lot about moving toward the original goal. This problem seems to be a hot topic from the beginning to the present.

Lee Young-ho : The early days of NAHF were very important to strategy. So I think the results of the study were applied to the development of policies and strategies. This was possible because NAHF absorbed the researchers secured by the Goguryeo Research Foundation and the Right History Planning Group. But do we have the professional authority to solve the current Northeast Asian history problem? This is one of the tasks I considered as my assignment.

Kim Yong-deok : I thought that as well as the researcher, the administrative staff should be ‘the researcher’ and know what NAHF does. So I gave all the employees a task at the beginning of the year. They were asked to submit their research assignments for the year, and in the second half they were asked to publish the contents. Every week I held an internal seminar under the name 'The Forum on Wednesday'. Clearing the research topic and building up the continuity of the research will give NAHF a boost. No matter who asks any question, we can answer it immediately. Of course, in the case of our lack of competence, it is natural to ask an outside expert who has studied for a long time in some field. But the NAHF should control that. It's not over if we pay the research money to the outside. We need to set the direction of the study. That's how we secure expertise and authority.

Lee Young-ho : When I hear you, it's not a problem that we have to choose between research and strategy. We can summarize it as 'development of policies based on research on Northeast Asian history issues', that is, integration of research and policy. The difference between NAHF and other research institutes seems to be based on 'research' on Northeast Asian history issues. We have built up many research achievements over the past 15 years. But it is time to ask how much we have prepared policy alternatives to solve the history problems of Northeast Asia.

Kim Yong-deok : Even if we have achieved some research results, I think it is more important to review it steadily, to find data again, and to do new research than to make policy alternatives faster. And if someone asks us what the results of the last 15 years are, we can show them what we've achieved. Because there are studies and achievements that have been made possible by our presence.

Lee Young-ho : What are the international networks built at the beginning of NAHF?

Kim Yong-deok : We have established a solidarity network through academic exchanges with Russian, Mongolian, Vietnamese and Central Asian countries as well as Chinese and Japanese scholars. First, we held an international conference mainly led by Korea, China and Japan. The masters were very pleased. We invited American and European scholars to the conference. Through them, we have built a foundation to resolve the conflicts of history and tried to expand the foundation of research on Korean history in the international community.

To add to this, to systematically introduce the achievements of Korean ancient history and archaeology to Western academia, I think supporting ongoing research on Korean history at leading universities in the world is one of the ways to form and maintain an international network. Through such efforts and support for various studies, we must correct the errors and distortions of Korean history that were common in Western academia.

Lee Young-ho : You once revealed an impression about the production of NAHF's emblem. Does the emblem have the meaning of peace and reconciliation in East Asia?

Kim Yong-deok : At first, I asked my employees to come up with ideas. But there aren't many interesting ideas. Then one day I thought I would like to put a roof on the Chinese character '亞' which means 'Asia'. The shape of the present is a researcher who majored in Goguryeo art, which symbolizes what I envisioned. Using the '亞', we developed it into a shape that two people face each other and support the roof. And I expressed the spirit of East Asian people who are aiming for peace through brown and yellow color symbolizing the land, green symbolizing the forest. This means that all East Asians wish to move toward a common goal. I feel great rewarding that the emblems created by me and the researchers have become a tradition and symbol of NAHF.

The Logo of Northeast Asian History Foundation

Lee Young-ho : It seems that the National Assembly, civil society, academia, and the media want us to play a lot of roles. Is there any last word you want to ask?

Kim Yong-deok : I think it would be better to have an international network actively. We should not stay in the issue of Korea-China-Japan or research on Korean history. I would like to expand contact with overseas academia and develop into a global research institute that encompasses East Asian history. I hope NAHF will gain international credibility.

Lee Young-ho : I will work hard to develop NAHF according to what you said today. Thank you for your good advice.