뉴스레터

In Nihon Shoki [日本書紀] (compiled in 720 CE), the first official historical chronicle of Japan, Kim Chun-chu is depicted as a hostage taken to Japan. It is said that after Silla conquered Gaya, Silla continued to send tributary goods to Japan on Gaya's behalf. Silla and Japan agreed to replace these tributary goods with hostages, and the first hostage sent to Japan is said to have been Kim Chun-chu. This account does not even warrant criticism in light of today's historical findings. However, a point of interest is why Kim Chun-chu came to be portrayed as a hostage in a Japanese historical text.

The mid-7th century, the time of Kim Chun-chu, was a period of great upheaval on the Korean peninsula. The three kingdoms were constantly caught up in territorial conflicts and intense diplomatic competition, each desiring to unify the peninsula. In 642, Baekje's King Euija succeeded in conquering Daeya Fortress and forty other nearby fortresses, which were Silla's military stronghold. The lord of Daeya Fortress was none other than Pum Seok, Kim Chun-chu's son-in-law. Pum Seok's entire family was massacred. Kim Chun-chu vowed revenge on Baekje and requested Gorguyeo's support from Yeon Gaesomun, Goguryeo's ruler. Goguryeo was at a standoff with Baekje at that time.

When his diplomatic overture to Goguryeo proved unsuccessful, Kim Chun-chu attempted a risky diplomatic maneuver with Japan, which was aligned with Baekje at the time. There is no mention of Kim Chun-chu's activities in Nihon Shoki, but it is recorded that "Kim Chun-chu is handsome and eloquent" [春秋美姿顔善談笑]. It is but an 8-letter character assessment, but it says a lot about Kim Chun-chu as a diplomat. Having concluded his diplomatic affairs in Japan, Kim Chun-chu went to the Tang court and requested Emperor Taizong for the dispatch of troops. In order to secure Tang's troop dispatch, Kim Chun-chu accommodated most of Tang's requests, including the adoption of the Chinese style of dress. Kim Chun-chu's omindirectional military diplomacy for unification proved successful, and Silla finally came to rule over the Korean peninsula.

Denigrated as a "Hostage" for the Sake of Japan-Centrism

The depiction of Kim Chun-chu as a hostage in Nihon Shoki is due to his special ties with Japan and his place in the history of Silla. As the king of Silla, Kim Chun-chu brought about the fall of Baekje. The efforts to revive Baekje, into which the Japanese imperial court invested much time and resources, failed miserably. Japan undoubtedly considered Kim Chun-chu to be an exceptional figure. The same man that had once visited Japan ascended to the throne of Silla and started an important royal line of the Silla dynasty. Many of Kim Chun-chu's direct descendents engaged in active exchanges with Japan.

In the 8th century, Japan's ruling class enacted a mandate designating Silla as an uncivilized state and compiled Nihon Shoki to supply historical evidence that Silla had historically been Japan's tributary. It was the Japanese ruling class' projection of its present and future desire of subjugating Silla. There was no better figure suited to satisfy Japan's subjective self-centered conception of its international standing. This is how Kim Chun-chu came to be portrayed as a hostage. Against the realities of the 8th century, it was believed that such a portrayal secured the Japanese emperor a more elevated historical position vis-à-vis the Silla king.

These are the circumstances that led to the distorted rendering of Kim Chun-chu, considered the top diplomat in East Asia at that time, by the ancient Japanese. However, this incorrect historical understanding formed during the ancient period never disappeared and was passed down to modern Japanese historians. It was reflected directly in their distorted perception of Korea and their sense of Japanese superiority. The Kim Chun-chu case is an exceptional phenomenon in Korea-Japan history whereby an ancient ideology and an early modern imperialist historical understanding become one, transcending spatio-temporal boundaries. It is a reminder of the importance of historical records and the need for critical insight in the discovery of the truth that lies hidden in them.