뉴스레터

We wish you all and your families the best of luck in 2016, the year of the monkey.
As we bid another year farewell and gather new hopes for the coming year,
no four-character idiom other than "Dasa danan" (多事多難),
which means eventful, seems to better describe the past year.

The year 2015 marked the seventieth anniversary of Korea's liberation. Since becoming liberated, our previous generation strived and succeeded in making progress, one likely to go down in history as a proud and unparalleled achievement for the Republic of Korea. Yet, multiple circumstances presently surrounding the Korean peninsula seems to make it impossible for Koreans to fully rejoice over their liberation seven decades later.

China is moving beyond "peaceful rising" (和平崛起) and is systematically spreading a historical view that signifies great power chauvinism. In the face of such change, Japan set out to reinforce its defense capability by amending its security-related laws. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the future of the North Korean regime. Now more than ever is the time to consolidate insights and efforts in order to ensure peace and prosperity for the Republic of Korea.

2015 has personally been a very special year for myself as well. It is because on the 17th of September, I took up my post as the fourth president of the Northeast Asian History Foundation. Since then, time has literally whizzed by from taking care of all sorts of tasks great and small, including the national assembly's annual inspection.

Getting through such a busy period brought something anew to my attention. That each and every member of the Northeast Asian History Foundation truly works hard to carry out their mission, even under trying circumstances inside and out.
To be sure, the Foundation did make much progress in various projects, which has helped solidify the purpose of the Foundation. I believe such progress was a result of all the efforts invested by my three predecessors as well as the entire staff here at the Foundation.

A Beginner's Mind to Embrace Public Expectations

The year of 2015 has also been one in which the Northeast Asian History Foundation particularly met with many severe crises. Criticism that the Foundation's activities had been falling short of expectations was voiced louder than ever by the public. We well understand that such criticism comes from none other than a special set of expectations people hold for the Foundation.

Heading into the tenth year since its establishment as of 2016, the Northeast Asian History Foundation shall return to a beginner's state of mind to discern what the public truly expects from it, what it needs to do in order to meet those expectations, and faithfully reflect such findings in its projects in order to build a momentum that will drive the Foundation through the next ten years leading up to its twentieth anniversary.

First, regarding the historical map production project that has been deemed problematic, we have concluded the contracted project and have reviewed its outcome as of last year. In consultation with the other institutions involved, we plan to carry out follow-up measures according to the review result.

As for research on ancient history, you may all be well aware of the diversity of opinions on controversial issues within academia. The Foundation has been hosting forums for discussion since 2014 to create opportunities to naturally collect and openly contest such differing views. The most recent example of this would be the academic conference on ancient history held at the end of 2015. The Foundation plans to keep up with this trend in 2016 as a means to expand the horizons of our understanding of history.

Even before becoming the Foundation's president, I have personally been following the Foundation's activities as a member of its advisory committee. I know that what our society and public demand from the Foundation is not just pure academic research alone. In the field of history, producing superb research results are no doubt the all-important task for those pursuing a career in historical research. Research on Northeast Asian history and territorial issues such as those involving the island Dokdo are indeed clearly stated in the legislation for the Foundation's establishment as one of its main missions.

Yet, there is another critical mission at hand for the Foundation. It is to suggest policy alternatives for issues currently creating conflict in Northeast Asia and to lead discussions involving history by disseminating messages conveying insightful solutions to overcome historical conflicts. This is what I believe to be at the heart of what the public hopes for the Foundation to accomplish.

Restructuring Organizational and Operational Frameworks for a New Takeoff

To properly meet public expectations toward the Foundation, it must step up another notch in terms of the quality of results it produces. Preparations for this began immediately after I took office in the form of internal restructuring. Organizational and operational frameworks have been reshuffled to help researchers better focus on their research projects and so that the Foundation's primary activities and projects concerning research, international cooperation, education, and promotion can be managed more effectively and systematically.

High quality research outcomes spawned from an improved environment are sure to be the basis for making policy proposals offering realistic, prudent choices necessary in overcoming historical conflicts between Korea, China, and Japan. We shall also work on raising the level of service toward the public through the Dokdo Museum Seoul and other educational programs on Northeast Asian history.

Equally important as internally improving the Foundation's capability would be to actively pursue exchange and cooperation with academic circles in Korea as well as those overseas so that Korea's arguments concerning historical controversies may gain greater domestic and international support. Such controversies are certainly not the first of their kind throughout the history of the world in which countries reveal contrasting views on historical or territorial issues.

Hence, to secure legitimacy for defending the island Dokdo and the history of Korea, the Foundation's work should be able to meet universal academic standards upheld around the world and conform to international order. This shall be another point the Foundation will attend to as it moves forward.

As I mentioned earlier, the year 2016 marks the passing of a decade since the Northeast Asian History Foundation was established under the support and encouragement of the public. Improving the Foundation's research and operational conditions at a more fundamental level requires having an independent office building of its own. This shall also be something we will putting much effort into realizing.

We hope to turn this year into one the public may be proud of all that the Northeast Asian History Foundation achieves. What will be needed most to do so is for the entire staff to join forces together in pursuing the Foundation's goals. Having the support and encouragement of the readers of our newsletters as well as the public at large would also be a huge help in attaining even greater achievements, so we sincerely ask for your unwavering attention.

Thank you.

January 1, 2016
President, NAHF