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Sun, July 23, 2017 | 07:54

Opinion > Columnists > Korean Historical Sense >

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

Yeongnam's strong presidential politics

Based on last year’s parliamentary elections, this column suggested the beginnings of major shifts in regional electoral patterns. A year later, it turns out that things have not changed much at all, at least in terms of presidential politics. Following an extraordinary half-year, South Koreans now face a sudden presidential election, and already, after a couple of weeks, the four main parties have chosen their candidates. And discouragingly, at least for those who desire major reform, the four candidates all hail from the same region: Yeongnam, or the Gyeongsang provinces. Granted, two of t...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-04-12 17:28

Modest proposal for Dokdo

If you’re like me, you tend to roll your eyes whenever you hear about the latest feud over Dokdo, known as Takeshima in Japan. The most recent controversy arose after the Japanese government approved privately-published textbooks that refer to South Korea’s control over these rocks as an “illegal occupation.” There was nothing new about any of this, but it was enough for the South Korean government to denounce the move publicly. This will change nothing, of course. South Korea will continue to possess these islets as its territory, the government and other groups in Japan will make their own...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-03-29 16:40

Gripped by authoritarian mind

Last week I received a surprise photo from my mother, now in her mid-70s, of an uncle whom I had not seen in many years. The picture showed him proudly posing as a participant in one of the recent “Taegukgi rallies” against President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment, this one in Seoul Plaza. Several things about the picture immediately stood out. First, the backdrop featured the old City Hall building, built by the Japanese colonial government in the early 20th century and thereafter used, until recently, as the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s headquarters. Second, amid the sea of South Korean fl...

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-03-15 17:29

Could NK have turned out differently?

Concern and fascination, mixed with some gallows humor, have characterized the popular reaction to the poisoning of Kim Jong-nam, the older half-brother of the current North Korean leader. To observers familiar with the bizarre North Korean transplantation of very traditional behavior into a modern authoritarian state, this made some sense. Still, the killing of an exiled potential claimant to the throne, which happened occasionally in Korea’s dynastic past, seems to have come straight out of a movie or television drama.

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-03-01 15:45

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Park's impeachment