Opinion - The Korea Times

Loyalty versus compromise

Are you ready for a rather philosophical piece today? On my YouTube channel I received a comment about loyalty versus compromise. It was the kind of comment that when I first read it, I rejected it because I thought it missed the point. But as I thought about it more, I moved through the steps from rejection to consideration, acceptance and conversion. The comment was in response to a video I made about a poem by Jeong Mong-ju, where I recited his poem at his tomb site. The poem, often called "The Song of Loyalty," is my favorite sijo poem and I recite it in every appropriate situation that I can — and probably in some inappropriate ones as well. It goes: "Though I die, and die again; though I die one hundred deaths, After my bones have turned to dust, whether my soul lives on or not, For my king, this small, ever-loyal heart of mine will never fade away." I assume you all know the story of how Jeong was asked by Yi Seong-gye to support the Joseon Dynasty that Yi was about to found, but he refused and declared his loyalty to the last Goryeo king — effectively choosing death. He refus

Jan 18, 2026By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Correcting Japanese corruptions of Korean history

The president's recent mention of the "Hwandan Gogi" has brought the question of Japanese influence on Korean history to the fore. The text purports to tell the earliest history of Korea and is generally considered to be a clumsy forgery, but those who adhere to it accuse nonbelievers of being subject to Japanese versions of Korean history. What does corruption of Korean historiography by the Japanese have to do with the text? Nothing, really. But if one questions the validity of the "Hwandan Gogi," supporters of the text accuse critics of taking a Japanese colonial point of view and distorting Korean history. Sometimes they will straight-up call others “chinilpa,” meaning pro-Japanese or a Japanese collaborator. Today, I thought I might take a look at what the “colonial” perspective on Korean history actually is. I think it will take more than one column — there’s probably a book or two to be written on the subject — but since the term is used and clearly abused, a brief examination would be a healthy start. In my view, there are two categories of historical distortion pe

Jan 11, 2026By Mark Peterson

Correcting Japanese corruptions of Korean history

Mark Peterson

The story of high-rise apartment buildings

Last time I wrote about the area of Seoul without high-rise apartment buildings — the traditional, and fashionable neighborhood of Bukchon. Writing about an area with no high-rise apartments made me think about Seoul’s history of high-rise apartments. When I first came to Korea in 1965, every neighborhood was like Bukchon. One-story hanok, and two-story “new” homes that were being built in the '60s. No five-story walk-ups — they were the next to come. No elevators, but four- and five-story apartment buildings. In New York, that kind of apartment building is called a “walk-up” — meaning no elevator! I remember an incident in 1968, when a set of five-story walk-up apartments was being built. There was a set of those apartments — new and modern — in Mapo or Yongsan, built on the banks of the Han River. The river began to erode the banks, weakening the buildings’ foundations, and eventually they collapsed into the river. The thing I remember about that incident was the wife of the director of our program then, who commented, “Somehow these people need to learn how t

Jan 1, 2026By Mark Peterson

The story of high-rise apartment buildings

Mark Peterson

The 'Hwandan Gogi' controversy

Recently, at a press conference on Dec. 12, President Lee Jae Myung created a controversy by simply asking a question. He asked if the "Hwandan Gogi" should be considered as part of the research and discussions on Korean history. Sounds like an innocent question, but the response was overwhelming in condemnation of the president for even suggesting that the "Hwandan Gogi" be considered as a authentic historical document. The "Hwandan Gogi" is a document allegedly compiled in 1911 by a man named Gye Yeon-su but not published until 1979 by Yi Yu-rip. It contains four separate “gogi” — old records. (As an aside, for those of you who speak a little Korean, the word “gogi” is not your familiar food from the barbecue restaurant. There are Chinese characters for this and they mean “old” “record.”) There is scholarly unanimity about the record as a forgery and that it cannot be taken seriously. However, as soon as I say that, I can hear the chorus of objections — the “believers” in the "Hwandan Gogi" — let’s abbreviate it as HDG — come after you with a vengeance i

Dec 18, 2025By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Visiting Bukchon

Bukchon, literally "north village," is a section of Seoul that has not been destroyed by high-rise apartments, and with its charming old hanok, or traditional Korean homes, is now a fashionable and chic part of town. Nice restaurants and shops make a stroll through the old neighborhood a popular pastime these days for Seoul residents as well as tourists. I’ve been working on a presentation, to be given at the Bukchon Cultural Center, in which I’m look at a bit of the culture and background of the old north district of central Seoul. In doing some historical research, I’ve found the meaning of some of the neighborhood names. I lived in Bukchon when I first came to Korea in 1965, 60 years ago, in Samcheong-dong. I learned then that it was named for the Samcheong Park, in the hills just north of our neighborhood. I was told that the “three clear” things referred to in the name were the water, the mountains and — although I remembered it as “air” — records say the third item is the people. Maybe air pollution was not a concern in traditional Korea. But it turns out there’

Dec 14, 2025By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Sixty years in Korea

Forgive my personal note this time, but within days of this article being published, I will celebrate 60 years since my first appearance in Korea. I first came to Korea on Nov. 22, 1965. I stayed for two-and-a-half years in that first iteration, and have returned close to one hundred times since, including other stays for study and employment, for a total of about 15 years altogether. What has changed in sixty years? The answer: everything. I remember visiting with a colleague of mine from the '60s who came back to Korea in the'90s. I had been in and out several times over those 30 years, but he was returning for the first time. I asked him what was different? What stood out as different? He responded that Korea was a completely different country. If that was true for a thirty year span, it is doubly true for a 60 year span. The one thing that I might say is the same is the people. But that’s not entirely true. The people, though holding on to some parts of Korean culture, are somewhat different. People are more self-confident these days — maybe too much so? The Korean people in the

Nov 30, 2025By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Korea’s new jokbo

Korean genealogical research is at a crossroads, although many may not know it. Family history has been embodied in what is called “jokbo." We can say that a jokbo is a kind of photograph of a society at a point in time. Typically, the jokbo that Korea knows today shows a male dominated, patrilineal family structure — but Korea is no longer a male dominant, patrilineal society. Does that mean jokbo will change? Yes — it must. As women have gained more rights and prerogatives in society, we can say the old ways of male domination are changing. Korea may not be a truly equal society yet, but it’s getting closer. Women are doing much better in areas where education makes a difference — for example, the foreign ministry recruits new diplomats on the basis of a test. In recent years, 70 percent of new hires were women. We see similar levels of success for women in other areas of government employment, and in addition, women have played stronger roles for some time in the fields of education and medicine. Whether we can argue that Korea is truly balanced in terms of gender or not, i

Nov 13, 2025By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

'KPop Demon Hunters' is really big

I’ve already written about the "KPop Demon Hunters" phenomenon, but it deserves more attention. From my point of view, it has recently crossed several thresholds, each an indicator of the power and influence of the phenomenon. Notice I call it a phenomenon, not a movie or a music soundtrack. It is a movie — a very successful one. And it is a collection of music — also very successful. But beyond that, it is truly a phenomenon. What makes me want to write more about "KPop Demon Hunters" is the fact that it has crashed into my life in several new ways. I think of it as having crossed more thresholds. Let me name them. I’ve received several emails from friends and messages on my YouTube channel that I need to prepare a video on the subject. That was the first threshold. Perhaps the most shocking one happened to me came in church on a recent Sunday — once as I was coming into the chapel, and once as I was leaving. Friends came up to me to ask me what I thought of the movie, and if I could answer some questions about it. That was a new threshold being crossed. The next threshold I n

Nov 3, 2025By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Madam 'One-eye'

I recently gave a lecture at the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics in northern Seoul. I was humbled by the task of speaking to a room full of translators of Classic Chinese as I thought of the hours of trudging through old Korean historical texts for my dissertation, and for research thereafter. I was concerned that my poor ability to translate Chinese classics would pale in comparison to theirs. But I prepared some of my best translations and historical insights that I have found over the years and made my presentation as best I could. The lecture turned out really well, and they seemed to appreciate what I had to say. But to make it interesting, I selected one text I had toiled over for a long time. I understood the story, but wasn’t sure of its purpose or even its context. It was floating in the official history, or “sillok,” like an island. I had some conjecture about what it was doing, looking out of place in the official records, but I’ve never been satisfied that I understood what it was all about. Until yesterday, when the institute’s authority on the s

Oct 19, 2025By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

K-culture and 'KPop Demon Hunters'

Several people have asked me what I think about "KPop Demon Hunters." I’ve been reluctant to respond because my area is Korean culture, not pop culture or movies. But when there is a movie that relies on or at least touches on Korean culture, I feel more comfortable saying something. So, dragging my feet and resisting, I have finally succumbed and offer my take on the phenomenon — and it is a phenomenon, more than just a movie. The movie broke records on Netflix. Its soundtrack has been wildly popular and in-theater screenings have attracted crowds as well. It’s earning lots of money and by all measures, it’s a resounding success. Knowing this, I finally mustered the will to watch it. It wasn’t easy. My wife had watched part of it, found it dull and turned it off. And I heard it was an animation, which did not sound very appealing. But in spite of these drawbacks, I bit the bullet and watched it. To my complete surprise, I liked it. I notably enjoyed the Korean culture, in various dimensions. There were the visuals — images of Korea such as the tiled hanok roofs; black horseh

Oct 1, 2025By Mark Peterson

Mark Peterson

Read more

Loyalty versus compromise

Correcting Japanese corruptions of Korean history

The story of high-rise apartment buildings

The 'Hwandan Gogi' controversy

Visiting Bukchon

Sixty years in Korea

Korea’s new jokbo

'KPop Demon Hunters' is really big

Madam 'One-eye'

K-culture and 'KPop Demon Hunters'

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