뉴스레터

Foreign Language Books

Japan’s Heritage Sites-The Center of International Conflict

Edited by the Northeast Asian History Foundation

  This book addresses the UNESCO World Heritage listing process and cases of overseas listings and so forth, following Japan’s recent application for the world heritage status of Sado Mine, which has sparked significant interest. It is common knowledge that the World Heritage listing process is conducted through the collaboration of international NGOs and organizations, based on research by institutions and experts related to the cultural heritage of the respective country. In addition, this approach aligns with UNESCO’s ideology for World Heritage. So, it is essential to avoid political intervention in this listing process and its utilization as a tool for historical distortion.

  This book compiled 6 papers published by the Foundation from 2021 to 2022 and provides detailed comparisons with various issues and foreign cases related to UNESCO World Heritage, aiming to accurately inform the world about the causes and solutions of ongoing Korea-Japan conflicts, such as the issues of forced mobilization and Japan’s application for UNESCO World Heritage, which has attracted international attention. The book not only points out the problems within the UNESCO World Heritage listing process, including Japan’s attempt to register a site associated with forced mobilization as a UNESCO World Heritage site but also suggests alternatives to resolve the conflict triggered by this attempt. I hope this book serves as an opportunity for both countries to cooperate toward historical truth and provides a clue to resolving historical conflicts between Korea and Japan. I also hope that it will contribute to establishing the UNESCO World Heritage listing process based on truth and credibility.

Research Collection 127

『The Formation of Modern East Asia and Historiography 2: The Rise of Chinese Nationalist Historiography in the 1930s』

Edited by Oh Byungsoo

This book, following 『The Formation of Modern East Asia and Historiography 1: Imperial Academic Planning and Manchuria』, is the result of a long-term research project aimed at finding a desirable approach to resolving the historical conflict problems, which are the current local issues, by analyzing them from the perspective of academic systems and modern ideology involved in modern nation-building.

  This book explores Chinese nationalist historiography, which began to rise in the 1930s and has continued to form a basis of Chinese historical recognition to this day, from an East Asian perspective. The 1930s is a highly distinctive period in Chinese historiography. Modern historiography, embraced in the early 20th century, began to take concrete form in this period, with the background of the academic system being in harmony with the modern nation and academic nationalism rising after the Northern Expeditions. However, a more critical development was the fact that historiography has radically been politicized as it combined with popular nationalism in response to Japan’s invasion of Manchuria. This book focuses on these phenomena and explores various aspects of how Chinese nationalist historiography reorganized nationality, territory, and cultural identities in response to Japan’s invasion. It also examines the lasting legacy of these historical events, which continues to influence the present. Undoubtedly, contemplating China’s modern historiography within an East Asian context is a fundamental step in the pursuit of a new historiographical approach that is essential for envisioning a fresh regional order and civilization paradigm.

Research Collection 137

『Goguryeo’s Letter Culture』

Written by Ko KwangUi

  This book aims to expand and deepen people’s understanding of Goguryeo history by exploring the Goguryeo period through the keyword ‘letter.’ This book was intended to investigate the letter culture of the Goguryeo period by reviewing and understanding domestic and foreign historical records, analyzing the letter data and tomb murals accumulated through archaeological excavations and investigations, and comparing records and artifacts. The author sought interdisciplinary and integrative research methods, encompassing not only historiography and archaeology, but also graphonomy, calligraphy, art history, aesthetics, and more to accomplish these tasks. This book examines the formation process and development of Goguryeo’s early letter culture through the analysis of Chinese literature, including the 『Records of the Three Kingdoms』, and extracts and analyzes ink writing inscriptions and scenes of writing gestures from tomb murals. Particularly, the scenes of writing gestures depicted in the murals vividly illustrate the daily letter life of the Goguryeo people, similar to today’s photographs and videos.

  This book classifies various forms of textual data that have been transmitted to the present into categories such as tombstone, carved stone, metal, Buddhist, seal, Wadang, note, roof tile, earthenware inscriptions, and ancient tomb ink writing inscriptions. It examines the inscriptions presenting the top-quality illustrations of each and comparing them with explicit texts and comprehensively explores the development of typefaces and their changes and so on. This book is expected to not only confirm the status of Goguryeo in the history of East Asian writing culture but also serve as a basis for research on the Goguryeo history, which is lacking in historical records.

Research Collection 138

『Generous Conqueror, Great Yuan Empire』

Edited by Kim Inhee

  This book studied the governing style of the Great Yuan Empire from the perspective of the Mongol rulers, rather than the perspective of the Yuan Dynasty as one of China’s imperial dynasties. Two terms that run through the book are ‘conquest’ and ‘generosity’. The rule of the Great Yuan Empire can be characterized by ‘absolute control’ in military and political terms, and ‘merciful generosity’ in cultural and religious terms. However, ‘generosity’ and ‘conquest’ are mutually exclusive terms. In this book, ‘generosity’ refers to ‘governance means.’ The rulers of the Great Yuan Empire effectively governed their pluralistic society by employing both ‘conquest’ and ‘generosity’

as their needle and thread.

  This book is divided into two parts, centered on the keywords of ‘conquest’ and ‘generosity.’ The first part is a study of the “imperial rule of the Great Yuan Empire,” delving into the portrayal of the ‘conquerors.’ The second part captures the deliberation of the Great Yuan Empire’s rulers in governing a multicultural society of their Empire, focusing on the word ‘generosity.’ This book covers a wide range of fields, including politics, military, economy, administration, society, culture, law, religion, language and writing, nationality, and orthodoxy, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Great Yuan Empire’s governing style.

  As the first scholarly work related to the Yuan Dynasty published in Korea, it brings together Korea’s leading scholars in the field of Mongolian studies.

Data Collection 45

『Modern Korea-Japan Relations History Compilation V(Part 1) - Record of Joseon Missions to Japan ‘Record of the Generous Missions in 1636’』

Edited by Yoon Yusook

  This book contains paraphrased texts, translations, and footnotes from the Japanese ancient document, 『Record of the Generous Missions in 1636』, which records the Joseon missions to Japan. This book comprises 8 volumes of records related to the Tsushima prefecture, which is preserved in the Tokyo National Museum.

  The Joseon Missions to Japan in 1636 have special significance as they were initiated shortly after a political scandal(Yanagawa Incident), in which Tsushima’s feudatory, who was responsible for maintaining friendly relations with Joseon, was directly involved. In 1635, Shogun Iemitsu declared the feudatory So Yoshinari innocent, while ordering the exile of his vassal Yanagawa Shigeoki, who had opposed him. Additionally, Shogun Iemitsu instructed So Yoshinari to invite the ‘Joseon missions.’ As the process of consideration revealed the fact that Tsushima had repeatedly compiled national histories, the visit of the missions was a testing ground for applying a newly renovated diplomatic system. The shogun’s diplomatic title of ‘Prince of Japan’ was a prime example.

  One of the Joseon works of literature that documented the missions visiting, 『Transcription of Communication Envoys』, does not include the record of the Joseon missions to Japan in 1636. Therefore, the 『Record of the Generous Missions in 1636』 holds significant historical value due to its proximity to the records of the Joseon-Japan relations from February 1631 to February 1637. This book comprises the first four volumes out of a total of 14, covering the process of preparations for inviting the diplomatic missions to Japan, as well as the performance of Joseon’s ‘horse-riding martial arts team,’ who came to Edo at the request of Shogun Iemitsu. I hope that this book will contribute to a better understanding of the Joseon missions to Japan.

Data Collection 60

『Post-Liberation Dokdo Island and Press Report Ⅲ: Dokdo Island from 1955 to 1962』

Edited by Hong Sung-geun

This book is the third volume of the 『Post-Liberation Dokdo Island and Press Coverage』 series, covering newspaper articles related to Dokdo Island published in domestic newspapers from 1955 to 1962. In 1955, the Korean government reconstructed a lighthouse on Dokdo Island and informed other governments. Since 1954, the Korean government has maintained a permanent presence of guards on Dokdo Island, which allowed them to immediately detect any maritime trespass by Japanese patrol boats. In 1958, talks between Korea and Japan resumed after a four-and-a-half-year hiatus, but Japan’s provocations regarding Dokdo hindered the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan. The Korean government promoted high-ranking officials’ visits to Dokdo Island and reinforced the Dokdo Island coastguard.

  The press reports from this period provide comprehensive coverage of various aspects, including the Korean government’s policy on Dokdo Island, events occurring on Dokdo Island, and discussions in the Japanese National Assembly. This may help in understanding the events related to Dokdo Island during this period and the evolving perception of Dokdo Island. These articles also include content not widely known until now. They feature Yoo Chi-hwan’s 1956 poem about Dokdo Island, ‘Dear Dokdo Island,’ and Choi Nam-seon’s posthumous works on Dokdo Island sent to General MacArthur, and Jang Do-bin’s article demonstrating Korea’s territorial claim on Dokdo Island from a historical perspective. This book may help you understand the details of Dokdo Island after the liberation and the dynamics of Korea-Japan relations over Dokdo Island.

Data Collection of Japanese Invasion History 29

『Compilation of Translated Materials related to the Kanto Great Earthquake and the Massacre of Joseon Peoples (1)』

Edited by the Northeast Asian History Foundation

  On September 1, 1923, at 11:58 a.m., a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the Kanto region of Japan. The strong earthquake destroyed major Japanese cities, resulting in a significant loss of life, and leaving the cities paralyzed. Malicious rumors such as ‘They set fires’ and ‘They poisoned wells,’ and others, branding Koreans as ‘rebels,’ began to spread from the night of the earthquake and went viral throughout Japan. In the disaster-affected areas, thousands of Koreans were ruthlessly massacred under martial law by armed forces, police, and vigilante groups. This event is known as the Kanto Great Earthquake and the Massacre of Joseon Peoples. The Japanese government has never apologized for this massacre; they have only concealed the facts and avoided the responsibility.

  This compilation of materials has been organized to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Kanto Great Earthquake and the Massacre of Joseon Peoples, with the aim of remembering this event and passing on the unfinished tasks. This compilation, focusing on the massacre of Joseon peoples during the Kanto Great Earthquake, utilizes historical facts such as martial law, malicious rumors, and measures against Koreans. It also incorporates research findings from Korean historians residing in Japan, including Kang Deoksang and Geum Byungdong, as well as Japanese scholars like Yamada Shoji and Matsuo Shoichi. I hope that this book can be used to inherit and improve the tasks left to us: clarifying historical facts, seeking apologies and accountability, preserving memory, and enhancing historical education.

Data Collection of Japanese Invasion History 84

Forced Mobilization through the Eyes of the 『Maeil Shinbo』 Newspaper

Edited and Translated by Kim Yoonmi

  Newspapers provide the most contemporary sources for understanding the daily life of forced mobilization during the Japanese colonial period. This collection covers articles published in the 『Maeil Shinbo』 between 1938 and 1945. The 『Maeil Shinbo』, founded on August 30, 1910, during the Japanese colonial period, remained the sole Korean-language newspaper and was continuously published for 35 years, even during the resource-scarce 1940s. Hence, the 『Maeil Shinbo』, which played a prominent role as a propaganda for the Japanese Government-General of Korea, is crucial for uncovering the realities of the Japanese colonial period.

  The 『Maeil Shinbo』 continued to publish distorted reports claiming Japan’s victories in various regional battles and propagated articles suggesting various forced mobilization laws, expressing a desire for their successful implementation. Simultaneously, it frequently issued warnings of severe punishment for those attempting to evade conscription and mobilization for the labor patriotism unit.

  In this collection, I provided an understanding of the timing, areas, forms, methods, institutions, laws, policies, and more related to forced mobilization. I then selected representative articles on forced mobilization from 『Maeil Shinbo』, and edited and translated them. To aid the reader’s understanding, chapters have been organized by year, and synopses have been added. The book provides insights into the overall context by focusing on the distinctive features of forced mobilization for each year, emphasizing their significance and changes. I hope this collection will facilitate an easier understanding of forced mobilization.