Past Forward: Essays in Korean History

Past Forward

Past Forward

Essays in Korean History

Kyung Moon Hwang

Anthem Press

An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company

www.anthempress.com

This edition first published in UK and USA 2019

by ANTHEM PRESS

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[© Kyung Moon Hwang 2019]

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN-13: 978-1-78308-878-2 (Hbk)

ISBN-10: 1-78308-878-8 (Hbk)

ISBN-13: 978-1-78308-879-9 (Pbk)

ISBN-10: 1-78308-879-6 (Pbk)

This title is also available as an e-book.

CONTENTS

List of Figures

Foreword

Chronologies of Korean History

Themes

Acknowledgments

Note on Romanization and Spelling

Part I Circulating History

1.Recycling Names for Korea

2.Toppling Tyrants

3.Religion and Secularism

4.Commemorating the Comfort Women

5.May 16 and May 18

6.Tragedy and Farce

7.Generational Renewal

Part II Durable Traditions

8.Marking the New Year

9.Slavery, Bondage, and Social Hierarchy

10.Marriage, Adultery, and Concubinage

11.Buddhism and Korean Identity

12.Christianity’s Rapid Rise

13.Civil–Military Balance in Politics

14.Regionalism in Elections

15.Yeongnam’s Strong Presidential Politics

Part III Ancient Remains

16.The Beginnings of Korean History

17.Ancient and Present Gaya

18.Empress Gi

19.Speaking of Northern Korea, not North Korea

Part IV Dynastic Depths

20.Currency and National Identity

21.Concubine Descendants

22.The Real Lives of Gisaeng Courtesans

23.A Shocking Execution

Part V Modern Origins

24.Jungin, Forerunners to Professionals

25.1894, a Signal Year

26.Great Korean Empire

27.March First Independence Movement

28.The Politics of Disease

29.Korean Universities

Part VI Challenges of Nationhood

30.Korea’s Past in Light of Brexit

31.Openness and Exclusion

32.The North Korean View of History

33.Another Way to View National Division

34.The First National Assembly Elections

35.Who Started the Korean War?

36.Textbooks and Competing Nationalist Histories

37.The Complexities of Memorial Day

38.Adoption’s Spotlight on Korean History

39.Questioning Monuments

40.Taking Ownership of the Past

Part VII History Makers

41.Demythologizing King Sejong the Great

42.Modern Lady Shin Saimdang

43.Five Potential National Heroes

44.A Portrait of Great Painters

45.Four Young Men from 1884

46.Na Hye-seok

47.Hyundai Motors and Chung Ju-yung

48.Yun Isang and the East Berlin Case

49.Ri Young-hee, Iconoclast for Democracy

50.Kim Young Sam’s Broad Historical Appeal

51.Kim Dae Jung’s Historic Election

Part VIII External Presences

52.Korea’s Complicated Relationship with China

53.How Chinese was Chinese History?

54.Tiananmen and the Power of History

55.Lotte between Korea and Japan

56.Comfort Women Beholden to History

57.A Modest Proposal for Dokdo

58.The General Sherman Incident of 1866

59.Depictions of the United States

60.Overcoming Old Views of Korea–United States Ties

61.Foreign Language Dependency

Part IX Trials of Modernization

62.Summer Symmetries

63.The Korean War as a Turning Point

64.The Students of April

65.The Four Ds of South Korean History

66.Two Assassinations

67.Roads to Revolution

68.Dramatizations of the Gwangju Uprising

69.The Great Labor Uprising of 1987

Part X Gripped by the Past

70.Natural Disasters and the False Wisdom of the Past

71.Royal Dangers

72.North Korea’s Alternative History

73.Origins of Korea’s Political Corruption

74.Anti-Communism’s Powerful Hold

75.Fraudulent Captains of the Sewol Ferry Disaster

76.Overcoming Past Hierarchies

77.Gripped by the Authoritarian Mindset

78.Ways of Living History

Index

Figures

4.1Original comfort woman statue in front of the Japanese Embassy, Seoul

4.2Replica comfort woman statue in front of the former Japanese consulate building, Mokpo, South Korea

11.1Jogyesa Temple in downtown Seoul

11.2Bulguksa Temple, Gyeongju, South Korea

11.3Wooden Blocks of the Tripitaka Koreana, Haeinsa Temple, South Korea

17.1Entrance to the Gaya Theme Park, Gimhae, South Korea

19.1Replica of the stele, in Manchuria, commemorating the exploits of King Gwanggaeto

20.1The four South Korean paper bills, featuring Toegye (Yi Hwang), King Sejong the Great, Sin Saimdang, and Yulgok (Yi I)

20.2Statue of Yulgok, Ojukheon Museum, Gangneung, South Korea

23.1Section of the wall of Suwon Fortress, originally built in the late eighteenth century to commemorate Prince Sado

23.2Statue of King Jeongjo, Suwon Fortress, Suwon, South Korea

25.1Bronze statue of Jeon Bongjun, leader of the Donghak forces of 1894, next to a subway entrance, downtown Seoul

27.1Pagoda Park, site of the initial public reading of the March First Declaration of Independence, downtown Seoul

27.2Reenactment of March First demonstrations on the grounds of a local high school, Busan, South Korea

28.1Ji Seog-yeong

28.2Baek In-je

35.1Memorial to the Korean War’s Battle of White Horse Hill, Cheorwon, South Korea

37.1Gravesites in the National Cemetery (Hyeonchungwon), southern Seoul

37.2Memorial statue and fountain at the entrance to the National Cemetery

39.1Entrance to the Independence Hall museum complex, Cheonan, South Korea

39.2A display within Independence Hall

41.1Statue of Jang Yeong-sil, legendary inventor from the King Sejong era

42.1Statue of Sin Saimdang, Ojukheon Museum, Gangneung, South Korea

43.1Yu Gil-jun

43.2An Chang-ho

43.3Choe Yong-sin

43.4Han Yong-un

45.1The four leaders of the 1884 coup (from left): Bak Yeong-ho, Seo Gwang-beom, Seo Jae-pil, Gim Ok-gyun

46.1Na Hye-seok

49.1Ri Young-hee

55.1Lotte World Tower, southeastern Seoul

56.1Exhibit on Comfort Stations, National Memorial Museum of Forced Mobilization, Busan, South Korea

60.1Memorial plaque in dedication to the UN forces who participated in the Korean War

64.1Entrance to the April 19th Memorial Hall, downtown Seoul

68.1May 18 National Cemetery, Gwangju, South Korea

77.1Commemorative photo of President Park Chung Hee at the 1970 groundbreaking ceremony

Foreword

How does Korean history connect the past to the present? This question runs through the current collection of short essays, which are adapted from a dedicated newspaper column, Korean Historical Sense, that I wrote for The Korea Times of Seoul from 2014 to 2017.

As a historian I fully recognize the past as valuable in itself, without necessarily a connection to today. But it was not my charge in this column just to illuminate interesting features of Korean history, but rather to consider how history informs a range of current concerns, from national identity to the overlaps between Korea and other cultures. The universalities, then, as well as the particularities of Koreans’ historical experience encourage thinking about the impact of the country’s past, and especially about the perception of that past, today.

Therefore, a focus on the development of historical understanding, or in other words, on the history of historical views, serves as this book’s unifying theme. It seeks to gauge the constant dialogue between Korea’s history, from its beginnings to the most recent developments, and Korea’s present—an exercise that entails not only considering how the past informs the present, but just as importantly, how the present affects the past. In such a dynamic, then, the present moves backward as much as the past moves forward.

And because this was a newspaper column, I often attempted to let a current concern trigger the historical topic to explore. Some of these original references have been removed in this volume so that it can function as a stand-alone collection of essays, but it will be clear to the reader that many themes, from politics to culture and international relations, are covered. But all of these essays are undergirded by the core idea that the elasticity of history stretches to transcend barriers in time as well as place.

The essays are divided into ten thematic Parts that all illustrate this general idea. The sections do not appear in any particular order, although the essays within each part are presented somewhat chronologically. Readers who wish to place each essay in the flow of major periods and events are encouraged to consult the chronological and thematic tables of contents at the beginning of the book.

Taken together, the essays forward the following points of emphasis, which amount to a personal ideology of history: First, as a teacher of history I aim to demystify and, if necessary, dismantle history, particularly in regards to the myths and heroes that suffuse every nation’s received historical understanding, not just Korea’s. In line with this motive, it is important also to shatter romanticized, glorified impressions of the past, such as those associated with and promoted by the royalty, clergy, aristocracy and other dominant elites of yesterday. To paraphrase from one of the essays, the wisdom of the past was not always so wise.

A related point is that, as a historian, I actually wish to de-emphasize history. History is important, of course, but popular or conventional historical understanding is often a product of manipulation, even fabrication, on the part of political and cultural actors. This, too, is not unique to Korea, and the connections in this regard to other countries are very informative. The most egregious examples, though, are arguably from North Korea, and it is critical to understand why and how this state’s distorted obsessions with history resulted from Koreans’ common concerns and experiences.

To escape the clutch of the past, then, is one of the major challenges and rewards of studying history in the first place. Gaining freedom and relief from recurringly damaging historical patterns and behaviors is crucial, but it is just as important to break away from cherished ways of thinking about the past as an unshakable determinant of the present or the future, whether on a personal, social or national level. This, too, is a universal phenomenon, but in Korea, due to the citizenry’s strong historical consciousness, there remains a particularly large potential to fall victim to this process, as well as to gain the rewards of escaping it.

This point was demonstrated well by the developments of 2016 and 2017, highlighted by the demonstrations of millions in the streets, which led to the ouster of South Korea’s president, Park Geun-hye, the daughter of a former dictator as well as a representative of powerful interests from South Korea’s authoritarian past. That, at least, is how I interpreted the deeper impulses behind those extraordinary events—as ultimately a confrontation between opposing forces and perspectives of history as much as anything else. As the reader of this volume will undoubtedly notice, such circumstances presented an unavoidable, compelling and particularly rich source of understanding for a full range of historical considerations.

It is my hope that the prevalence of such personal perspectives will not appear overwhelming or distracting, and that regardless of where one stands in relation to the author’s positions, the reader will find the essays thought-provoking as well as instructive, and hence worthwhile.

Chronologies of Korean History

Political Eras

Major Events

Themes

Acknowledgments

I wish first to acknowledge the assistance and professionalism of Tej P.S. Sood, Abi Pandey, and the rest of the editorial and production team at Anthem Press. I also thank The Korea Times, in particular Chang-Sup Lee, Yoon Bae Park, and Young-Jin Oh for their diligence and care and for providing permission to use several of the images in this volume. Finally, many thanks to my family, fellow Asianists at USC and around the world who have offered encouragement, and especially my students at USC who have inspired me to pursue my calling as an educator, broadly conceived.

Note on Romanization and Spelling

This book uses the Revised Romanization System of Korean, with the exception of certain political figures with well-known spellings otherwise, the city of Pyongyang, and the surname Sin, which is rendered as Shin.

Part I

CIRCULATING HISTORY

Chapter 1

RECYCLING NAMES FOR KOREA

A country’s name naturally reflects its history. For example, there are about a half-dozen official monikers for Germany in different regions and languages, a sign of Germany’s long and fractured existence before it became a unified state in the nineteenth century.

Korea’s story is somewhat different. With the exception of the Mongolian word, Solongos, which also carries a fascinating history, there are three basic names for Korea around the world: Goryeo (Korea), Joseon and Hanguk. Over its long history, many different expressions have been used, both by neighbors and among Koreans, but these three have become standardized in recent times. Even more interesting is that each of these three terms was revived from an ancient historical period and, in the modern era, underwent further modification in line with political shifts. Such recycling of words for Korea thus shows both the civilization’s longevity and its people’s awareness of their shared past.

The oldest of the three names is probably Joseon, which appeared in ancient Chinese records in reference to a political entity on the northern part of the peninsula and extending into Manchuria. This connection later became the basis for national myths about Korea’s primordial origins, myths still promoted in both Koreas today.

Joseon was replaced by the kingdom of Goguryeo, a more verifiable state that ruled over the same territory beginning about 2,000 years ago. Contemporary Chinese sources, using colorful descriptions of customs and rituals, described Goguryeo as one of several groups on the peninsula, which included the three Hans (Jinhan, Mahan and Byeonhan), tribal confederations on the peninsula’s southern half. The term Han appears to have come from a native word for great or big, perhaps also king, but was assigned an ideograph (韓) that referred also to an ancient Chinese kingdom. This added to the confusion, but thereafter the Three Hans, or Samhan, became a conventional reference for the peninsula.