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Sun, September 24, 2017 | 03:22

Opinion > Columnists > Korean Historical Sense >

Toppling tyrants

We know things have gotten really bad in inter-Korean relations when the South’s government very openly reveals the formation of a special “decapitation” squadron targeting the North Korean leader. Such units have always existed in some form, probably, but the point now is to make an impression on such a mercurial, absolutist dictator, as every other approach appears to have failed. How to shake some sense into, or better, get rid of a tyrant whose behavior seems not just unpredictable or bizarre, but frightening, has been a universal problem throughout human history. In hindsight, a well-ti...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-09-20 16:41

Monuments are not untouchable

Made of stone or metal, and often larger than life, monuments are meant to be permanent. The most celebrated ones are public memorials, built by governments and placed in communal spaces such as parks or in front of courthouses, presidential mansions, or other official buildings. Indeed the most massive, elaborate, or decorative government buildings act as monuments themselves. This should not mean, however, that monuments are held as eternally sacred symbols. They reflect the particular historical circumstances of their creation, and their meanings can change over time. In the U.S., this th...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-08-30 17:36

Korea, US and General Sherman incident

Sensible people around the world these days are wondering which of the two political leaders of North Korea and the United States, respectively, is more bombastic, juvenile, unpredictable and dangerous. It used to be that the inflammatory wild rhetoric, straight out of an elementary school playground, was exclusive to the North Korean leadership, but the Kims have met their match in Donald Trump. The great fear is that this man’s behavior will be as appalling as his words and set off an unspeakable catastrophe on the Korean Peninsula. Readers might object to this comparison as facile, given ...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-08-16 17:41

Great Labor Uprising of summer 1987

Starting last October South Koreans demonstrated the power of collective action in protecting the principles of democracy and the rule of law, and fittingly the culmination of this movement came in the 30th anniversary year of Korean democratization. Many commemorations recently have celebrated the remarkable events of June 1987 in which millions filled the streets to end authoritarian rule. What is often overlooked, however, is that the process did not stop with, or was limited to, political liberalization, but included an equally extraordinary mass movement for economic democratization. St...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-08-02 17:35

Yun Isang and the East Berlin Case of fifty years ago

A deep sadness spread around the world last week with the death of Liu Xiaobo, the longtime Chinese dissident who had been incarcerated since 2008, when he helped draft an online statement calling for basic democratic reforms. He was widely admired for his courage in the face of oppression and in 2009 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which he was not allowed to accept in person.

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-07-19 17:29

Overcoming old views on Korea-US ties

Not surprisingly, last week’s meeting between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump in Washington DC received a lot more interest in South Korea than in the US. Also not surprisingly, yet another instance of Trump’s shameful behavior suddenly grabbed all the attention, minimizing further the American public’s awareness of the South Korean leader’s visit. What was surprising, however, was that Moon still fawned over his deplorable counterpart while repeating age-old mantras about South Korea’s historical bond with the US. President Moon’s past statements suggest that, like probably the majo...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-07-05 17:14

Gaya and government interventions in history

Some controversy has arisen since President Moon Jae-in publicly encouraged greater study of the ancient civilization of Gaya and nominated a particular National Assemblyman for a cabinet position. President Moon vowed to do things differently from his disgraced predecessor, but both of these steps seem mostly to have continued a disturbing pattern.

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-06-21 17:03

Adoption's spotlight on Korean history

The recent suicide of a Korean-born adoptee from the United States, Phillip Clay, prompts uncomfortable reflection in several ways, including about the history of “undesirable” Korean children. This is the term used by a doctoral student of mine writing her dissertation on Korean orphans, vagrant children, and others who came to be identified, educated, and regulated in the modern era. Societies have always had to account for children in such unfortunate circumstances, and most modern societies developed systematic ways to attend to them, a process usually led by the state. In cultivating pe...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-06-07 17:29

Taking ownership of the past

It used to be said that unlike in most other democracies, in South Korea, one’s political identity depended on his or her opinion, ironically, of North Korea. Whether one was “conservative” or “liberal,” or something in between or beyond, reflected mostly one’s stance regarding the North. Of course it was more complicated than this. The issues that shaped a South Korean citizen’s political ideology and affiliation usually were numerous and worked in complex ways. Still, this somewhat conventional analysis seemed, at heart, correct. If so, it was easy to see where such a reality came from: th...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-05-10 17:11

How Chinese was Chinese history?

At this extraordinary moment in South Korea, amid a historic presidential election campaign following the arrest of an impeached president, it seems silly to bother reacting to yet another ignorant, irresponsible remark from Donald Trump. But predictably, Koreans are upset because China’s President Xi Jinping might have told him that their country “was once part of China.” This column has already detailed the complex “love-hate” historical relationship between Korea and China, so there is no need to go over this again. But we can take this small controversy as an opportunity to further consi...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-04-26 17:48

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