뉴스레터

NAHF Institute on Pre-modern Korean History has been searching and translating new historical records since 2018 to solve the most difficult 'lack of historical records' problem in Gojoseon and Buyeo historical studies. We are organizing teams with academic majors and translating historical records that have never been translated before. In December 2019, we published a collection of materials called 『Ancient History of Korea: Gojoseon · Buyeo (1) - Historical materials before the 17th century』.

This book compiles historical materials before the 17th century, including Daedong Yaseung in the Joseon Dynasty, in the order of writing and compilation. For reference to 『the Gojoseon, Dangun, and Buyeo Database』 (2005, Goguryeo Research Foundation), the original texts were searched and compared, correcting the misleading and removing the wrong parts.

The historical materials that were not used in the study of Gojoseon and Buyeo were translated and added, such as 『Yeokdaesenyunga(歷代世年歌)』 by Kwon Je(1387~1445) and 『Daedong Unbugunok(大東韻府群玉)』 by Kwon Munhae(1534~1591). The part that was translated by individuals long ago was newly translated to reflect the latest research results. Historical materials such as 『Samguk Yusa』 which is provided with translations through the Internet, were edited with the help of related organizations, individuals and publishers. Therefore, this book is a collection of historical materials before the 17th century among the records related to Gojoseon and Buyeo.

In this way, the collection of all existing translations is to make it easier to access historical materials and to reduce the gap caused by insufficient historical materials. On the other hand, it is also aimed at making it easier for those who have not majored in history to read and understand Chinese text. The image data was included as an appendix, and the data were arranged in the order of writing and compilation so that how the historical description and perception of Gojoseon and Buyeo changed according to each period was revealed. In addition to bibliographic explanations in all historical materials, this study also briefly presented how these materials can be used in the study of Gojoseon and Buyeo.

Just as modern historians study Gojoseon, Dangun, and Buyeo, traditional scholars and writers have explored and recorded it. The literary works, essays, historical books written by the private sector, and travel texts tell us what intellectuals' perceptions of the Gojoseon and the Buyeo era were. 『The History of Joseon』, a textbook for elementary schools compiled in the modern period and the 32nd year of King Gojong(1895), contains the history of Gojoseon and Buyeo.

There are many records to refer to among Chinese historical materials. The books written at the earliest time, such as 『Kwanja(管子)』, 『Sanhaegyeong(山海經)』 and 『Jeongukchaek(戰國策)』 were written during the Gojoseon period, including the historical materials related to Gojoseon and Buyeo. The Chinese official books such as 『Sagi』, 『Hanseo』, 『Huhanseo』, 『Three Kingdoms』 and 『Jinseo』 are recorded as independent items. The records of Gojoseon and Buyeo are also recorded in the literature left by individuals such as 『Yeomcheolron』, 『Bangeon』, 『Bakmulji』, and 『Seolmunhaeja』.

Some of the Korean and Chinese feeds have been translated and studied, but many have never been translated. Therefore, NAHF will publish the collection of materials by sequentially translating ‘the 18th century historical materials’, ‘the 19th century historical materials’, ‘The Book of Literature published in the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty’, ‘the geographical book that systematically describes the contents of local information’, ‘textbooks published in modern times’, and ‘the Chinese and Japanese historical materials’. For this purpose, a translating team composed of Korean ancient history majors and Joseon Dynasty majors has been meeting every month for the past two years, minimizing errors and trying not to miss any small parts.

In Korean history studies, there is no controversy about the lack of historical data and interpretation as much as the Gojoseon and Buyeo era. There are few remaining records, and there are many difficulties in research because there are no historical books published in the era.

In the case of Gojoseon, the earliest history book 『Samgug Sagi』 was written by Kim Bu-sik of the Goryeo Dynasty in 1145. This appears fragmentarily in 『Silla Bongi』 and 『Jiriji』. In the 『Samguk Yusa』 Ki-i section, which was written 100 years later, Wanggum Joseon and Wiman Joseon were recorded as separate items. This is the first historical data of the Gojoseon study in that it is the record of Samacheon, a person of the Han Dynasty in China at the end of the Gojoseon. The articles related to Gojoseon are also well left in the 『Hanseo』, 『Huhanseo』 and 『Three Kingdoms』.

Buyeo has existed in the same age as Gojoseon for over 100 years, and has developed by closely interacting with Goguryeo. Nevertheless, there are not many records related to Buyeo, which only seem sporadic in the records related to Goguryeo and Baekje in 『Samguksagi』. In 『Samguk Yusa』 Ki-i section, it is recorded as "Northern Buyeo" and "Eastern Buyeo". Chinese historical materials were recorded in separate items in 『Huhanseo』 and 『Three Kingdoms』. In the Chinese historical materials, Buyeo is slightly covered in records related to ancient Korean countries such as Goguryeo.

Most of the historical materials cited mainly in the study of Gojoseon and Buyeo history, including the books mentioned above, have been translated. Some of this translation is being provided to academia and society through the Internet and publications. In rare cases, individual researchers find new historical materials and translate them. However, it is not easy to approach the same data repeatedly or by interpreting it differently. This is why it is urgent to find historical materials to study Gojoseon and Buyeo.

Nevertheless, there has never been a systematic arrangement and synthesis of related historical materials. It was the researcher's individual's responsibility to translate historical materials in Chinese characters. NAHF has started a project to collect and translate even small records that have not been used in the meantime.

This year, we focus on historical materials written after the 18th and 19th centuries. When this translation is completed, two books will be released, including a translation already completed. This will be the first collection of historical materials in Korea and abroad related to Gojoseon and Buyeo history. And it will be a foundation for solving the shortage of historical data and for the study of Gojoseon and Buyeo history to advance. When the project is completed and the whole collection is published, it will be the first collection of domestic and overseas historical materials related to Gojoseon and Buyeo history, which will solve the shortage of historical materials a little and will be the basis for the advancement of Gojoseon and Buyeo historical studies.