뉴스레터

A new year has dawned. I hope your wishes come true for everyone here at the Northeast Asian History Foundation. The title of this message Geungo yeobmu (根固葉茂) means solid roots bear lush leaves. It's a four-character axiom my father often quoted to his children when we were young. The axiom sounds rather ordinary, but it's actually applies to any task lying ahead. The reason it came to mind was probably because I was preoccupied with how to handle several different matters related to the Foundation. Due to internal as well as external difficulties, the Foundation has not been able to completely figure out its own place. The title therefore represents my earnest hope for the Foundation to finally establish itself as a deeply rooted tree strong enough to not be shaken by any gust that blows its way.

Any country or organization goes through the "start-up phase" upon its establishment before moving on to the "preservation phase." Both phases are, of course, equally challenging. Then again, they say that success is easy to obtain, but difficult to maintain. After ten years or so since its establishment, I believe the Foundation is now generally entering the preservation phase of preserving and upholding its founding mission, despite the many tasks lying ahead that still belong to the start-up phase. This transition will no doubt be very trying and difficult.

During the preservation phase, the motivation throughout the start-up phase should continue to serve as a basis while it keeps being molded and renewed to suit the changing times. This process involves learning from the past to create new things, which is precisely what intellectuals would often recommend in the old days through axioms such as Beobgo changsin (法古創新) or Byeonrye changsin (變例創新).

The Foundation has been carrying out many plans for reform it devised last year. Those plans were formed out of discussions on topics ranging from the Foundation's duty as a quasi-public institution to its areas of specialization. And what those plans ultimately aimed at was go back to the basics and recommit to the Foundation's original mission. The mission to conduct research and policy-related analysis and educate and publicize issues related to historical controversies. Accordingly, the Foundation recalibrated its core research areas and reviewed the outcomes it produced so far to determine which may be helpful in formulating policies or educating the public about historical controversies in Northeast Asia. The Foundation also sought to reinforce its role as a quasi-public institution by regarding the public as its client and therefore serving it at a closer proximity. In short, the plans for reform devised last year were aimed at guiding the Foundation into the preservation phase.

To learn from the past and create new things in the preservation phase, all members of the Foundation must consolidate their efforts and evolve into a new community. They should be aware of the fact that their work is more than a means to make a living. It involves serving the public and their country, and while striving to do so, the Foundation's members should be able to individually achieve progress.

The aphorism I mentioned on my first anniversary as the Foundation's president still seems to highly relevant to the Foundation, so I'd like to bring it up once more: A gentleman makes friends through writing and nurtures his benevolence through friends (君子 以文會友 以友輔仁). Taking that aphorism one step further would involve asking for all members of the Foundation to trust one another and work in harmony. This may sound rather banal in today's modern society but considering that the Foundation has already been recognized for its family-friendly management, we should remember to treat one another at work as a member of our own family. Ga (家), the Korean-Chinese character that stands for home, is a combination of two different characters. The character on top called myeon (宀) means roof, while the character on the bottom called si (豕) means pig. So, combining the two would mean "to raise pigs under a roof," suggesting that a house is a place where people, in other words a family, huddle in harmony. Since 2019 is the year of the pig, it seems worthwhile to ponder what the Korean-Chinese character Ga (家) stands for.

At the beginning of every year, everyone makes resolutions and come up with plans to keep them. Being human, we, of course, often fail at reaching the goals we set out to achieve. That is why they say resolutions are meant to last only three days, especially when those resolutions are overly ambitious. So, for this year, I wish our members here at the Foundation can each aim for smaller goals for themselves or the Foundation. Personally, I will be retiring from professorship at the end of February this year. It will mark the end of a long career of teaching and the beginning of a new life for me. I will need to set new personal goals, but in terms of the Foundation, I hope to contribute to helping it further solidify the basics and thereby strengthen its roots. Bearing in mind that a healthy tree bears many leaves and fruit, I once again hope the wishes of everyone at the Foundation may be fulfilled.

From NAHF President Kim Do-hyung on the first morning of 2019, the Year of the Golden Pig