뉴스레터

In one research paper written by a Japanese author, I was shocked to find historical research in South Korea be defined as "immature in terms of empirical study." It was a painful description that nailed reality. A glimpse at the research subjects covered so far on Korea's modern and contemporary history reveals that there are too many yet to be studied and that there are more than a few studies falling short of in-depth, empirical research. There is no detailed verification done on arguments from articles that have already been published. Many research subjects that fall under modern and contemporary Korean history require a review of not only Korean material, but Chinese and Japanese material as well. That is the same for historical research in China and Japan. This means that a proper look into one's own national history can only be achieved from being equipped with a viewpoint that encompasses other surrounding East Asian countries.

These ruminations followed me on my recent visit to where the Meiji Restoration started in Japan. In a different scope, Nagasaki, Yamaguchi, and Shimonoseki are historic sites that are also related to the modern and contemporary history of Korea.

Flags of the Meiji Restoration Rippling Everywhere

The Meiji Restoration is a major event in terms of world history. Recently in Japan, conspicuous reminders of the time have been appearing. Above the ticket booth along the pier of Nagasaki port hangs a huge banner. The banner celebrates iron and steel, shipbuilding and coal mining sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution making it on to the list of world heritages through the 39th UNESCO World Heritage session.

Within the group of accepted sites, however, are some that do not necessarily seem to meet the group's said profile, such as Japanese naval facilities and a battery that used to be positioned at a fortress. Then there is the Shōkasonjuku Academy (松下村塾). Opened in 1857, this private academy run by Yoshida Shōin (吉田松陰, 1830-1859) taught teenage students for about a year. Among those who attended the academy were the very ones who went on to overthrow Japan's shogunate system and lead the Meiji Restoration such as Takasugi Shinsaku (高杉晋作), Itō Hirobumi (伊藤博文), and Yamagata Aritomo (山縣有朋). These figures, however, were also the very ones who started the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, which eventually inspired the successors of such figures to launch further acts of aggression such as the Mukden incident, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Pacific War.

The outcomes mentioned above show that neighboring countries invaded by Japan were not taken into consideration when such sites were accepted as world heritages. The bright and dark sides of the Meiji Restoration are starkly visible to Japan as much as they are to its neighboring countries. Carrying out wars of aggression to become a military power should count as a dark side. Unfortunately, remains of those wars have now become glamorized as a source of pride for Japan.

Resurging Colonial Views of History Through Wikipedia

Once Imperial Japan successfully modernized its military power through the Meiji Restoration, it began launching full-blown acts of aggression. It was most unfortunate for the Joseon dynasty on the Korean peninsula to have been its very first target. Wars of aggression were in fact at the very heart of the so-called "bright side" of the Meiji Restoration. Politicians, the military, the Roninkai, and merchants in Japan were not the only ones who were after Joseon. It was the same with Japanese historians as well.

Books on Korean history that Japanese historians authored using modern methods of study are based on ideas that justify imperialist invasion and rule. The partiality to describe Korean history with such ideas are referred to as the application of colonial views to historical research, a matter gravely considered in the study of national history in Korea. In the latter half of the twentieth century, serious discussions took place across the Korean society in order to do away with traces of such colonial views. Then are they no longer applied in today's historical research? The immediate answer to that question would be no. Previously, those views would clash through research papers and books, which brought scholars and educators to the front line. Now there is no single front line because of an overflow of information online.

A total of 285 languages are represented in Wikipedia, the multilingual online encyclopedia. There are 5,080,998 entries in English, and more than a million each in Japanese, German, and French. Currently, there is said to be 341,902 entries in Korean. What is problematic are entries on Korean history authored in the Japanese language. The contents of those entries are surprising in terms of their advanced degree of diversity and meticulousness compared to their corresponding entries in Korean.

Such entries precisely represent the same colonial views of history that used to be prominent during the first half of the twentieth century. More than a few of them have even been drafted according to the "mature framework of empirical study," which inevitably makes them much more likely to be accepted by readers, even by experts in historical research. It is terrifying to think of the influence such entries shall wield over students all over the world in search of information online.

There are no territorial boundaries when it comes to information online. What would happen if people around the world were to come across incorrect knowledge that has been translated into multiple languages including English? Recent entries on South Korea-Japan relations are proving to be even more damaging. Koreans are described as people still seeking an apology for Japan's colonial rule over Korea despite repeated apologies that have already been made by the Japanese emperor and past prime ministers. Some entries have more than 500 references as "empirical support" that are supposed to make them appear more reliable.

The relation of historic sites in Japan to modern and contemporary Korean history started out at Yamaguchi prefecture and has now expanded into online entries on Korean history. That in itself would more than qualify as a reason to personally visit and study those very sites in Japan.