뉴스레터

The year 2015, a year of the sheep, has begun. The sheep are known to be highly social animals that live in groups and fit well in their community. It is my hope that like the sheep that are friendly-looking and gentle-natured, it will be a year of peace and health in harmony with neighbors.

Obviously, the year 2015 is of exceptional significance to us, for it is exactly seventy years ago that our country gained independence from Imperial Japan. Over the past seventy years, there have been difficulties, large and small, and ups and downs. Nevertheless, our people have continued to make remarkable progress worthy of our pride in every aspect, from politics to economy, society, and culture.

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of our country's independence we are so proud of, the Northeast Asian History Foundation will have occasions to bring together researchers of history and territory not only from Korea but from countries around the world to look back on and evaluate what we have accomplished, and explore what would be needed in our path to the future with the centennial of our country's independence as a milestone along the way.

Reflecting on the 70 Years, and Moving Toward the 100 Years, Since the Independence

If it is the Independence Day for us Korea, it means that it will be the Victory Day for China and, of course, the Defeat Day for Japan. Apparently, Korea, China, and Japan are celebrating, documenting, and commemorating what happened on this day seventy years ago slightly differently from one another, although it may seem like the day of a completely different or similar event to each of them. By leveraging the network of cooperation that has been built with the academia of not only China and Japan but other countries in the world, we at the NAHF will take a fresh approach to examining the significance of 'independence,' 'victory,' and 'defeat' to East Asia today and use it as a foundation for moving toward the future.

One thing we should not forget is that the independence didn't come just for the people south of the truce line. The joy of liberation was the same whether in south or north. Keeping that in mind, we will arrange occasions for South Korean and North Korean scholars to gather together to have a celebration, and an academic review, of the independence, in a slow but steady preparation for initiating inter-Korean exchange.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Korea-Japan Agreement by which the two countries, as sovereign states on equal terms and of free democracy, agreed to restore their diplomatic ties in twenty years since the collapse and retreat of Imperial Japan.

When I think about Korea-Japan relations, I feel bad. I have felt particularly frustrated to watch Japan rapidly going backward over the last few years when it came to dealing with history. But it is because Korea-Japan relations are in such difficulties that the effort to overcome this situation is needed more than ever. The Northeast Asian History Foundation will go on to fill the year 2015 with projects designed to examine the challenge of settling the colonial past, e.g. the 'comfort women' issue, from the perspectives of East Asia and world history, and explore ways to improve Korea-Japan relations and China-Japan relations.

To Expand the NAHF's Educational Functions and Develop Out reach Programs

Another thing we should not forget is to take time for self-examination and introspection. The Northeast Asian History Foundation will celebrate the 9th anniversary of its establishment in coming September. It has achieved many accomplishments through research in historical and territorial issues regarding the Northeast Project, 'comfort women,' the distorted textbooks of Japan and China, sovereignty over Dokdo, and so on. It has also constantly endeavored to build a close network with related research institutes and academics at home and abroad.

Looking back, however, I am afraid that sharing these accomplishments with the people has been relatively neglected. Basically we have placed too much emphasis on the depth and specialty of scientific research to worry about how to reach out to the public. That explains some unnecessary misunderstanding that we have caused.

What is for sure, however, is that the NAHF is an institute established with the expectation and anticipation of taking strong measures against the neighboring countries whose perceptions of history threaten our history and sovereignty over territory and of developing logic to persuade the world and letting it be known far and wide across the international community. Without the support from the National Assembly, the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs among other related government agencies, the press and NGOs, and anonymous citizens with interest in history, the NAHF could not be here today.

So, I will make the year 2015 a year for reaching out to the people. If we assumed that the people would understand and praise us automatically as long as we did our job, we would be taking it too easy. We will bring ourselves down to the people's level and look for better ways to let the people know what the NAHF is doing.

First of all, the NAHF's history/territory education projects will be expanded. The quality and level of the NAHF's existing training programs for school teachers will be upgraded. In addition, the NAHF will develop programs that reach out to the people living in not only major cities but also smaller ones in any part of the country. The NAHF will also use popular media like cartoons, general history books, and SNS in distributing and making its content shareable for the people. We will have to ensure that these projects will make the people feel closer to the NAHF.

Throughout this year of 2014, it has been pointed out by many people that the NAHF has been neglecting research in ancient history. I humbly accept this criticism. But let me report that two researchers of ancient history have been hired. Once the task of hiring another researcher is done, a research team dedicated to ancient history will be launched. Then it will be possible to conduct related research in a more systematic manner based on our accumulated research findings.

They say that the year 2015 will be a very harsh time not only economically and socially but also internationally in light of the trends of neighboring countries surrounding the Korean Peninsula. At a time like this, we will listen to the opinions of our history-loving people and go on to bravely tackle challenges from within and without based on the correct perception of history. Once again, I wish you health and happiness.