Mark Peterson

Prof. Wagner on KBS video, 1985

Recently, one of my colleagues discovered a recording of my graduate school advisor, Edward W. Wagner, on a 1985 KBS program. He was interviewed about his work and the development of the Korean program at Harvard. I was so, so delighted to watch the video and see a younger, vibrant professor and friend. My last memory of him was when I visited him at the senior care center when he was deep in the throes of Alzheimer's. Now, to see him as a young sixty-year-old, a man just a little older than the man who taught me Korean history in graduate seminars, brought back a flood of happy memories.

The Chinese in the Korean War

One of the projects I’m working on these days is a documentary film about a Utah National Guard battalion that fought several major battles in the Korean War and yet returned home miraculously with no fatalities. I’ve written about the 213 Field Artillery Battalion here before, but today, I thought I’d bring you up-to-date on what we are finding in our background research for the film.

The Palgojodo Association

Call me quixotic, but I have founded, formally, the genealogical association of the future for Korea. It is actually the genealogical association of old Korea, that I am trying to revive for a framework of family history research in the future.

To rescue Korea’s declining population

Nationwide Confucian conference

I was in Korea recently as a guest of the Sungkyunkwan — not the modern university, but the original Confucian academy that is over 1,000 years old. Today, the Sungkyunkwan is the headquarters for the Confucian organization. The conference I attended was a training session for leaders of Confucian organizations from across the country — the hyanggyo and seowon in every area of Korea. I was asked to talk about my views of the standing of Confucianism in 21st-century Korea.

Congratulations, democracy

Congratulations, Korea, on another display of democracy with your recent elections. I lived in Korea at a time when the practice of democracy was in question, but today, in some ways, Korea is more democratic than my own country, the United States.

A tribute to Namhi Wagner

I want to pay tribute to my “samonim” in today’s editorial. Samonim means the wife of one’s teacher. One of my most influential teachers was Ed Wagner, my thesis adviser and major professor at Harvard. I wrote a piece paying tribute to him several years ago (Sept. 22, 2019). At that time, thanks to the connection provided by my old friend and retired editor of The Korea Times, Hong Soon-il, (who died two months ago at the age of 93), I reconnected with my samonim,Namhi Kim Choi Wagner.

Stories held in Korean names

One of my favorite pastimes is looking at names, particularly unique names. I guess it's the genealogist in me. When I watch sporting events, other people look at the athletic skill of the competitors — I look at the names on the backs of the jerseys. In American sports, there is always a new name I’ve never seen before.

Korea: lowest birthrate in world

Koreans are always proud of being the first or the best at things. Having the lowest birthrate in the entire world, however, is a “best” that is really the worst.

Haiku in Korea, 'sijo' in Japan

On the heels of a recent trip to Japan, coincidentally, I was asked by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to write an essay for their webpage, Korea.net, on the positive cultural relations between Korea and Japan. The current government is taking a conciliatory position vis-a-vis Japan, in contrast to the previous administration, which took a more confrontational approach. I suppose that the variations of policy are a good thing and a byproduct of government by democracy. It’s a healthy kind of pendulum swing, the essence of democracy.