Korean translation of book on Czech history published

By Park Jin-hwan

Czech Ambassador to Seoul Jaroslav Olsa, Jr. attended a ceremony held at Sogang University in Seoul last Tuesday to mark the publication of the Korean translation of a book, titled “A Brief History of the Czech Lands to 2004.”

The book was originally written by Czech historians Petr Cornej and Jiri Pokorny in 2004.

It was translated into Korean by the university’s HK Research Project Team on Eastern Europe. The translation was published last month.

Prior to the publication, only one book existed in South Korea covering historical aspects of the Czech Republic — “The history of Czechoslovakia” by Professor Kwon Jae-il. It was published in 1995.

The ambassador recommended “A Brief History of the Czech Lands to 2004” as a book for Koreans to read.

“It is our great honor to have the opportunity to introduce the history of the Czech Republic to the Koreans. We hope that this book will bring about a better understanding of the Czech history,” he said.

According to Professor Lee Kyu-young who led the project, Ambassador Olsa himself willingly volunteered to help the team in the process of publishing the book.

Professor Lee said, “In an era when trade between South Korea and the Czech Republic exceeds 2.5 trillion won, we believe this book will help enhance both the bilateral relationship and understanding of the Czech Republic.”

The European country had been part of Eastern Europe in the Cold War era.

Kim Jeong-taek, vice president of the university, said this caused a misunderstanding.

“Along with the peoples of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, Czechs have always acknowledged their country as part of Central Europe. However, it was generally misunderstood by others as a member of Eastern Europe. This book is a good starting point in understanding such phenomena.”

The book chronologically describes historical events from the early fifth century through 2004.

Members of the research team said they plan to expand their project for the studies of Hungary and Poland in the near future.