뉴스레터

New Year's Greetings

Greetings to all the readers of the Northeast Asian History Foundation News for the new year of 2023! Although we still face the COVID-19, we are a step closer to ordinary life. I hope the pandemic is completely eradicated this year for us to enjoy healthy lives.

The global community and Northeast Asia was suffering from social unrest the previous year. We were greatly impacted by the global crisis. Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The separation issue of the pro-Russian region of Donbas from Ukraine seemed to be resolved with the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014. Samuel P. Huntington predicted in Clash of Civilizations(1996) that internal conflict between Ukraine and Donbas would occur due to clash of civilizations. Russia's invasion of Ukraine can be seen to have originated from the clash of civilizations between Catholicism in Ukraine and Orthodoxy in Donbas, but it is more appropriate to see it as the beginning of Russia's war for imperial hegemony, seeking ways to expand “Eurasianism” against the unipolar system.

From Russia’s perspective, the reason for Russia's invasion of Ukraine can be viewed to have an error in the fact that regions and the people were easily separated with the end of the Cold War. China appears to be taking a different route, enforcing policies that eliminate possibilities for internal conflict caused by clash of civilization. It has been transforming from a national policy that respects the history and culture of ethnic minorities based on the “Unificative Multiracial State” theory to the “Chinese National Community” theory that pursues sinicization, an assimilation to the Han people. Externally, it is demonstrating the theory of “community of common destiny for mankind,” modernly recreating the traditional Sinocentric order that collapsed after the Opium Wars and the First Sino-Japanese War. This can be hardly interpreted as a means to criticize Western-centrism and restore Asian values as the peace in East Asia is at risk. This makes us look back at the time when peace in East Asia was destroyed with serial events in the Korean peninsula and the Taiwan Straits in 1950.

History is often brought up to justify actions that affect international relations. President Vladimir Putin of Russia claimed Kiev the “mother of Russian cities” and that Ukraine and Russia are one nation with no separate history or culture, putting historical remembrance as the reason for invading Ukraine. This is similar to China’s theory on historical territory that claims that all regions with historical connection with China are Chinese territory. This kind of theory is restructuring historical memories used for justifying the “revival of imperialism.” One thing the history can contribute is to use the beautiful history of exchanges and cooperation as the foundation for peace and co-existence. To avoid distortion and abuse of history for hegemonic ambitions, we must raise mutual understanding on proper history and common values of mankind.

The Northeast Asian History Foundation(NAHF) has been established with the objective to share proper historical awareness and build the foundation for peace and prosperity of the Northeast Asian region. To realize this, we have been identifying and resolving historical issues, attempting historical reconciliation. To share proper history and build understanding on Northeast Asian history among the general public, academia, media, and political world, the Foundation has been issuing the Northeast Asian History Report twice a month since October 1, 2021. In 2022, we made the first issue of an upgraded publication titled Northeast Asian History Focus on June 1. With the aim to have the general public easily understand the current issues of Northeast Asian history, the publication addresses topics that analyzes the essence and proposes ways for resolution.

I would like to comment that the relocation of Dokdo Museum Seoul that began in 2021 has been completed. The opening ceremony was held on October 25, 2022, in celebration of the day Dokdo was placed under the jurisdiction of Uldo-gun by the Korean Empire government on October 25, 1900. I am very glad to see more visitors and their positive feedback. Dokdo Museum Seoul features the country’s largest Dokdo model built at a scale of 1:100 that enables visitors to experience the real appearance of the island and observe the history, present, and future of Dokdo. I hope the museum is visited by more people to contribute to having Dokdo recognized as the territory of the Republic of Korea geographically, historically, and by international law.

This year, NAHF plans to strengthen cooperations with international academia on Northeast Asian historical issues, actively interacting with not only Korean, Chinese, and Japanese academia, but also that of the U.S. and Europe. We wish to share rational interpretation based on historical facts with international academia. We also hope to discuss about the differences in historical and cultural identities of Korea, China, and Japan. NAHF will close gaps in historical perceptions among the three countries and realize historical reconciliation, thereby functioning as the foothold for realizing peace in the Northeast Asian region.

I hope this year is filled with joy and happiness.

Happy New Year.

Lee Young-ho, President of the Northeast Asian History Foundation