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Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson is associate professor of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah.

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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
'Parasite' vs 'Gone with the Wind'
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
Korea's peaceful history
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
Robert Jermain Thomas
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
Not USS General Sherman
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

Petitions and signatures

By Mark PetersonWe used to joke, when I was a student in Korea in the 1970s, that the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom was more democratic than the Park Chung-hee era in then contemporary Korea. The joke had some truth to it. Both at the level of criticism of the Park administration for its lack of democracy on the one hand, and the amount of democracy we find in Joseon.Of course, therein lies the irony ― that the time of kings, the Joseon dynasty, had democratic institutions. But there were several. I could write a column on each ― for example, student demonstrations. Korea's student demonstration were hallmarks of Korean political life from April 19, 1960, through the 60s, 70s and 80s, until true democracy evolved in Korea. The “samsa” was the censorate ― the three offices of government that had the duty of criticizing the king and the government (and the censorate had great power in the Joseon court; the three arms of the censorate often, really often, criticized the king and his appointments). The king would sometimes withdraw the offending appointment or decision, and someti

Jan 5, 2020By Mark Peterson
Petitions and signatures
Mark Peterson

Gems from Sillok

By Mark PetersonIn continuing the theme I wrote on last week, that of unusual incidents recorded in the Sillok, the official history of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, today I want to write about an unusual episode discovered in the Sillok by my colleague, Milan Hejtmanek, who retired recently from Seoul National University.The story Milan tells is available on YouTube at the Academy of Korean Studies site called Societas Koreana. There, several scholars have recordings of important lectures they have given. It is similar to what some universities call the “Last Lecture” series, meaning not that it is really your last lecture, but it is the sum of much of a career of work distilled down to its most important parts and presented in an hour-long format. I have a lecture there: #61. Milan's is #58. Milan's lecture is marvelous. He covers many important aspects of the Sillok ― the kind of record it was, its reliability, its compilation, its suppression by the Japanese in the early 20th century ― and in fact, the near total destruction of the record during the Japanese invasion

Dec 29, 2019By Mark Peterson
Mark Peterson

Treasures from Sillok

By Mark PetersonThe Sillok was the official historical record of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom. It was an abridgement of the discussions at court where the Royal Secretariat keep record of all the discourse between the king and his subjects. Topics covered everything from major policy decisions, minor decisions, reports from the countryside and even astronomical phenomenon.The Sillok was a faithful chronicle; one of the safeguards built into the writing of the history was that they didn't compile the official history until after the king died. Then a committee of scholars/officials would be assigned to go through the records and write the official history. And the new king could not interfere on behalf of his father, the predecessor king. (The Sillok has been named as UNESCO Memory of the World.)The record began with the four secretaries that would take notes in every official meeting with the king. If one goes to the palace today, one can see the four desks on the floor where the secretaries would sit, in a space between the king's throne and the inside of the doors of the palace hal

Dec 15, 2019By Mark Peterson
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