Opinion - The Korea Times

Korea never invaded another country

By Mark PetersonLast week I looked at the number of invasions Korea has suffered, and I explained my point of view, that there were really very few invasions in spite of the popular opinion that Korea has been invaded numerous times. Today's entry (#4) in this series I call, “Peaceful and Stable Korea,” looks at the fact that Korea has never invaded another country.Some years ago, I had lunch with a director-general of one of the divisions at the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I mentioned the fact that Korea had never invaded another country; something Korea should be proud of. But to my surprise, he bowed his head, and lowered his shoulders and said, “Yes, we were so weak that we never even invaded another country.”I thought it was a unique feature of Korean history, and a thing that few, if any, other country could claim. But he took it as a source of shame, of embarrassment. I told him, “Oh no, this is a thing to be proud of. Few countries can claim to have such a peaceful tradition.” But he would have none of it. He insisted on being embar

Mar 27, 2020By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Misconception about invasions

By Mark PetersonI realize that I am about to contradict the summary of Korean history told by 95 percent of my friends in Korea, but I am of the opinion, based on my studies, that my contrarian view is more accurate. Most of my Korean friends are of the opinion that Korea has been invaded numerous times. I don't buy it. I see relatively few invasions in Korean history, and long periods of peace and stability.Where does the multiple invasion point-of-view come from? Unfortunately, much of the reason for thinking that Korea has been invaded often comes from the Japanese period. And it was to the Japanese administration's advantage to advocate multiple invasions, thus making the Japanese invasion less of an oddity, “why, it's just another invasion!” “You've been invaded so many times, what's one more?”When I was a student, I met a retired high school teacher in Gangneung who was an expert on invasions. He had gone through all kinds of historical sources and had tabulated an exact number. I can't remember his exact number, but it was like 983 or so. He counted eve

Mar 22, 2020By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Transitions of dynasties

By Mark PetersonAfter a diversion for two weeks to respond culturally to the “Parasite phenomenon” I want to return to the theme of “Peaceful Korea.” My point is that peace is deeply inherent to Korean culture. After all, the common greeting is “Annyeonghashimnikka (Are you at peace)?”Recent history may not speak of a peaceful tradition, but I want to look at transitions from dynasty to dynasty. One might argue that the 20th century was not marked with peaceful transitions ― and that's true. But my argument is that the long history of Korea describes the deep-seated character of Korean culture. I want to look at historic transitions from dynasty to dynasty, and here we see something unlike that seen in any other country.In my Top 10 of Peaceful Korean History, today's article is #2. Previously, I wrote about #1, the longest dynasties in the world.Let's start with the transition from Gaya (47-562) to Silla (57 B.C. ― 935). Before Silla conquered Baekje and Goguryeo and dominated the peninsula in 668, it absorbed Gaya. I use the word “absorb&rd

Mar 15, 2020By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

American culture and 'Parasite'

By Mark PetersonI've been struck by how the age ratings of the movie “Parasite” differ slightly in Korea and in the U.S. I thought I'd take a minute to look at how the ratings in each country are different, and what this might mean.The first question for many people when considering whether to watch a movie is its age rating. The rating in the U.S. for “Parasite” is “R,” meaning age 17 and above, but the rating in Korea is “15” ― age 15 and above.Some of my Korean friends have talked about the differences in how Americans and Koreans see the film ― particularly in how each culture views its potentially offensive or “mature” material.The basic definition of material that could be offensive is material that is sexual or violent in nature, or that contains nudity or violent language.The most interesting differences between the U.S. and Korea, in the interpretation of these standards, is probably related to language. In the case of “Parasite,” both cultures may perhaps agree on issues relating to sex, nudity, and vio

Mar 8, 2020By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

'Parasite' vs 'Gone with the Wind'

By Mark PetersonBoth Korea and the United States have a history of slavery. They are both very different, and yet, they are both the same.One reason that Parasite “works” in both Korea and in the United States, so much so that it won the highest recognition a film can earn, is that it exposes a nerve that is buried deep in each culture. This awareness of a history of slavery, and the inhumane treatment that, by definition, goes with it, is buried deeply and denied in some, and not buried much at all and near the surface in others.In the United States, cries for reparations are still debated in the political arena each election cycle, and some respond to the cries, and some reject the cries. In Korea, the hierarchy of society and it's exaltation of some, in speech and in social regard, reminds us of a by-gone day when the hierarchy was not just marked with speech levels, but with attire, with housing, with education, with power and position, which indeed were blatant reminders that some people were slaves and some people were owners of slaves.Guilt. All of society feels so

Feb 28, 2020By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Longest dynasties

By Mark PetersonI've written about this previously, but the more I think about it, and work on it, I find new dimensions to the idea. Almost all the Korean dynasties, even the earliest ones, run five or six hundred years. There are no short-lived or failed dynasties. Even the Gaya Kingdom, although it can be argued that it lacked a centralized, fully developed state, ran 500 years.There are problems with the starting dates of all these early dynasties. Depending on when the six eggs came down from heaven for Gaya, or when the horse brought the egg for Silla ― and other myths for the other dynasties ― leaves more questions than answers. But the archaeology supports the ideas with artifacts that show an early founding of the respective dynasties. And the ruling structure of those early dynasties seems to have taken hold in about the time frame of the myths.Yes, there are some short-lived groups, the Ye, the Maek and some others, but they were probably tribal groups that never became “states” with a stable king and other factors defining a state. The states that developed, e

Feb 23, 2020By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Korea's peaceful history

By Mark PetersonIn my first articles for The Korea Times, over a year ago, I wrote about how my own views of Korean history are different from the orthodox history taught in Korea ― I described myself as a frog outside the well. I'm pleased to report that many of my views are receiving a welcome reception. I was fearful that my presentation of Korean history would be discarded, out of hand, because I've seen scholars and graduate students attack those who present new or unorthodox ideas. And I've had some criticisms, as well ― I guess we all have. But largely, my views are starting to win acceptance by a broad reach of Korean citizens.I am thinking of the responses my work has received on my YouTube channel. The majority of responses to my YouTube channel are positive and agree with me, and encourage me to continue to make my presentations. This has been greatly encouraging because I've seen scholars and students criticized severely for unorthodox ideas. In fact, I think there is a kind of “unhealthy oppressive orthodoxy” in Korean historical circles these days. Look at h

Feb 14, 2020By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Robert Jermain Thomas

By Mark PetersonLast week, inspired by the paper presented by my colleague Prof. Kirk Larsen, I wrote about the ill-fated 1866 General Sherman incident, the ship that was attacked and burned to the water line on the outskirts of Pyongyang. Prof. Larsen mentioned a missionary onboard who died with the rest of the crew. I have been curious about him and decided to look up his story and write about it today.It was a remarkable story. Often, in relating the story of the “sinking” of the General Sherman, Robert Jermain Thomas is mentioned as one of the passengers and he is described as a Welsh missionary. That caught my curiosity ― who was he?His story is tragic ― beyond losing his life on the ill-fated ship. But to jump to the end of the story, his legacy is great ― he is heralded by the Protestant community in Korea as the first missionary in Korea. And there is a shrine built to him in his hometown in Wales where sometimes Korean Christians visit and pay their respects.Tragedy struck Thomas earlier in his life as well. As a young man, the son of a minister, he decided to at

Jan 31, 2020By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Not USS General Sherman

By Mark PetersonMy colleague at BYU, Kirk Larsen, recently made a presentation on the destruction of the ship, the General Sherman, delivered at a conference co-sponsored by the University of Utah and Seoul National University. I've been claiming that some of my views are like that of the frog that is outside the well. Prof. Larsen's presentation was exactly that ― a new look at the sinking of the General Sherman that tells us we have been getting it wrong in several ways.The first point Prof. Larsen makes is about the name of the ship. Often in the history books it is referred to as the SS General Sherman or the USS General Sherman. It was neither. It is only the “General Sherman” ― a privately-owned vessel on an exploratory trading venture in Korean waters in 1866, when the Joseon dynasty had a closed-door policy. The prefix SS indicates “Steam Ship” meaning it was not merely a sailing vessel, but had a steam engine as well. The USS indicates “United States Ship” meaning a part of the U.S. Navy, a warship.There has been some historical confusion

Jan 19, 2020By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Pre-modern Korean democracy

By Mark PetersonLast week I wrote about a specific document I would like to tell you more about. It is a petition and shows a degree of democratic action in that it was signed by numerous people of the county involved in the action. Last time I wrote about the uniqueness of the signatures, and the fact that Koreans only used the dojang (stamp or seal) after the Japanese period, but in the Joseon Kingdom, they would sign documents.That was last week. This week I want to write about the content of the petition and look at what it reveals about Korean cultural values, many of which are alive and well in Korea today.The petition was drawn by the “scholarly community” within the county and it was addressed to the county magistrate. It recommended that a monument or gate be erected for a certain family for their exceptional character and exemplary behavior, not for one individual but for 10 individuals over a five generation period. Eight were exemplary filial sons, one was a faithful widow and one was a loyal subject. Any one of these could have been the cause for erecting a s

Jan 12, 2020By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Read more

Korea never invaded another country

Misconception about invasions

Transitions of dynasties

American culture and 'Parasite'

'Parasite' vs 'Gone with the Wind'

Longest dynasties

Korea's peaceful history

Robert Jermain Thomas

Not USS General Sherman

Pre-modern Korean democracy

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