뉴스레터

The history center of Balhae Dynasty, Korea's first-ever museum dedicated to the history and culture of Balhae, opened on July 10 in Sokcho-si, Kangwon-do, northeastern part of the country. Here, visitors are to learn about Balhae history research and findings. An academic conference was held on the day of opening, and among the attendees was Professor Zheng Yongzhen of Yanbian University, who is known for his excavation of the Mausoleum of Princess Jeonghyo, a major breakthrough in the study of Balhae history. We sat with the professor who is leading a range of excavation projects for historical remains of the Kingdom of Balhae as a director of the Balhae History Research Center at Yanbian University.

Historians in Korea as well as neighboring countries like China and Russia are paying a growing attention to the history of Balhae as a new research topic. Do you see any specific reasons for this?

I believe that it has something to with the issue of whether Balhae was a subject state or not. History is open for multiple interpretations, and the way of interpretation could easily have an influence over recent territorial controversies. That may explain why concerned nations are keeping an eye on Balhae history in order to present a logical ground and strengthen their foothold in their arguments.

Your ongoing research project is titled "the history of Balhae from a new perspective." Could you elaborate on what you mean by the "new perspective?"

I'm referring to the viewpoint established by the Yanbian University Balhae History Research Center, which I hope to be distinctive from other studies. I started my work by looking into general directions and critical issues chosen by studies already done in the related countries. Understanding how others approached this research area first was an important step for me to voice my own opinion. Plus, the main part of my research, "the view on 4 critical issues surrounding the history of Balhae" will certainly distinguish my work from other studies.

Explain "the view on 4 critical issues surrounding the history of Balhae.

All of them are critical and sensitive issues. First in line is where the history of Balhae belongs to. To the question of "should Balhae be part of Korean history or Chinese history?," instead of choosing between the two, I suggest to acknowledge Balhae as an independent state that existed 1300 years ago. It is important to provide an insight into the relationship Balhae maintained with the Tang Dynasty, Japan, and Silla in East Asia, implication and contribution of Balhae to the regional history, and development of Northeast Asia history along with the Kingdom of Balhae.

The second issue is to determine whether Balhae was a subject state of Tang China, or an independent state. We, at the Balhae History Research Center, hardly believe that Balhae served as a provincial government of Tang. If we call Balhae a regional government of Tang only for its tribute-investiture relationship, all the other neighboring countries that had the same relationship with Tang at that time should be defined as Tang's provincial government, too, which is unpersuasive. Rather, respecting Tang as a regional superpower was apparently a way of diplomacy as part of the international order of the time.

That said, we don't think Balhae was independent enough to stand in the equal footing against the Tang Dynasty, as the North Korea academia insist. From our perspective, Balhae was an independent state that maintained the tributary-appellation relation with Tang on the outside, and adopted its own calendar system and established the order of an empire internally.

The next issue regards to the culture of Balhae, which could be directly linked to its sovereignty. Balhae appears to have been affected by more than one culture. Culture is not static, but continuously changing and evolving. Balhae was founded based on Malgal and Goguryeo culture, and the culture of Tang heavily influenced Balhae in the later period.

The last issue is defining the main population of Balhae. Studies to date have largely focused on identifying the origin of Dae Joyeong and his group, arguing over whether Dae Joyeong should be believed to be a Malgal or Goguryeo descendent. To reach a truly meaningful conclusion, however, finding out the lineage of Dae Joyeong would not nearly enough. Historical records clearly indicate that the population of Balhae consisted of Goguryeo descendents, the Dae Joyeong's people and the Malgals. In this regard, understanding the composition of the ruling class would be an integral part to explaining the main population of Balhae. Even though Dae Joyeong was a Malgal descendent, the particular Malgal minority including him – it would be more reasonable to believe Dae Joyeong was from the Baeksan Malgal tribe rather than Songmal Malgal – refer to the Malgal tribe that had been practically assimilated to Goguryeo.

Our incoming book covers all of these 4 issues. Once released, this book would help provide an objective perspective on Balhae history, and narrow the dissenting views of concerned nations.

Which area of Balhae history do you find the most interesting?

As an ethnic Korean researcher working in China, I cannot afford to just hold on to sensitive issues. That drove me to grow interest and take part in some concrete areas like excavation. So far, a considerable amount of excavation has been done in China, Korea and Russia, unearthing various relics and remains. North Korea, however, still remains a largely unexplored terrain. My top priority now is in North Korea. It's been 5 years since we began to work for excavation within North Korea, and last year we initiated excavation work in North Korea for the first time and it would last until next year. Some amazing results that could greatly boost the Balhae history research have been already discovered and much more are to come in the future.

Korea, China and Japan have often been involved in disputes over history including issues related to Balhae. What do you expect from several programs of the Northeast Asian History Foundation such as an invitation of overseas scholars?

Meeting in person is essential for resolving a conflict. The more frequent we meet together, the better we would be able to understand each other. The inception of the Northeast Asian History Foundation was to promote peace and stability of Northeast Asia by bridging misunderstandings. The organization has provided a valuable forum where scholars from different countries could exchange their different research methodologies, and learn from their diverse perspectives. This, of course, has greatly contributed to addressing historical disputes.