[INTERVIEW] Retired FSC chief finds inspiration exploring Koreans' ancestral roots

Kim Seok-dong, former chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Jipyong LLC in central Seoul on March 2. Kim leads Jipyong Humanities and Social Science Research Institute. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Adventurous, fearless spirit is key to Korea's miraculous development

By Anna J. Park

A veteran financial bureaucrat for over 30 years, Kim Seok-dong was a key architect of Korea's economic growth from 1980 to 2013. Known for his intelligence, focus and natural charisma, he succeeded at climbing to the top echelon of the financial authorities, serving as a chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) ― Korea's top financial regulator ― for three years until 2013.

The ease with which he solves intricate financial problems via policy has not only earned him the nickname "relief pitcher" during his time in the government but also gave him such a reputation that his name is even now still often bandied as a potential candidate for important financial appointments either in the private or public sectors, 10 years after his retirement from the top position at the FSC.

Diverting from this career path, Kim has fully committed to delving into the ancient history of Korea for the past 10 years, since he left the helm of the FSC in 2013. During the past decade, Kim has been living as a passionate historian, spending about one-third of each year in remote places around the world, such as the highlands of Central Asia and the North Pole, searching for relics and artifacts connected with Koreans' ancient ancestral roots.

His field research has seen him traverse a 50,000-kilometer-long path across the globe and has yielded a 604-page book titled "Searching for the DNA of the Korean People" in 2018 through a major publisher. The book's new revision was published late last year and contains hundreds of genealogy tables, maps and numerous photos that he took to trace the origin of modern Koreans.

"I've always dreamt of being a historian. Even when I worked in government, I approached the country's macroeconomic issues with a historian's long-term perspective," Kim said during a one-on-one interview with The Korea Times earlier this month. The interview was held at his office at Jipyong LLC in Seoul, where he's been serving as a senior advisor and the chief of Jipyong Humanities and Social Science Research Institute.

"History is a stepping stone leading to the future. One needs to precisely observe the past and the present so that one can head toward the future, fully knowing their identity. My main focus and interest lie in discovering and restoring the ancient history of the Korean people which has largely been distorted and neglected in the country's history education," Kim highlighted.

'Koreans share roots with northern horse-riding peoples'

The main thesis of his research is that an ancestral connection exists between Koreans' ancestors and horse-mounted peoples who had long dominated Central Asia and key empires in both China and Europe.

"The roots of the Korean people trace back to Gojoseon, which was formed as a centralized authoritarian country between B.C. 3600 and 2400 surrounding the Korean Peninsula and the vast areas of Manchuria, following the formation of Neolithic clan societies which began in the area some 10,000 years ago," Kim stressed. "Many textbooks briefly narrate the history of Gojoseon, sometimes writing off the early phases of its long history as a myth. But it was an actual country that existed for a long time, as evidenced by relics and artifacts from the Bronze Age found in the region," the former FSC chief added.

Kim went on to say that Gojoseon is not only the fatherland to the current Korean people, but also the root of various northern horse-riding peoples: the Huns, the Xianbei, the Gokturk, the Mongols and the Jurchen. Old history books state that the Hun descended from Gojoseon people. The Xianbei were also descendants of Dongho, another name for Gojoseon.

On top of collecting literary evidence from countless old history books from many countries as well as research papers, he himself searched around relics and artifacts everywhere, spending over 100 days a year away from home.

He said the history of the northern horse-riding peoples and the Koreans were closely interlinked for thousands of years. He cited assertions by Shin Chae-ho, a renowned historian and independence fighter of the late 19th and early 20th century, who maintained that the Huns, the Xianbei, the Gokturk and the Jurchen share the same ancestral roots with the Korean people.

"From Parthian shots drawn in Goguryeo's ancient murals, brassware, ornaments, headstones and tomb styles, we can find numerous similarities between Korean antiquities and those from the northern horse-riding peoples," Kim explains, as he shows pictures of a famous royal gold crown of the Silla period, which contains representative emblems of northern horse-riding peoples.

"A tombstone of King Munmu, the 30th King of Silla, discovered in 1789, states that the Kim royalty from Gyeongju is descended from the Hun," he said. "Likewise, a ZDF TV documentary in Germany suggests that the Hun's root traces back to the Korean peninsula. Also, the genealogy of Jumong, the founder of Goguryeo, is extended to progenitors of the Jurchen as well as Alan Gua, the mythical mother of the Mongol people, whose 10th descendant is Genghis Khan," Kim explained, showing genealogy tables.

According to Kim, DNA analysis of Koreans conducted by local historians and professors showed that Koreans' traits are composed of about 70 percent of the northern horse-riding people and 30 percent of southern people who arrived on the Korean Peninsula by sea. He added that the combination of the two distinctive dispositions made the Korean people uniquely strong.

"The horse-riding people of the Eurasian Plains are a significant part of ancient Korean history. It should not be excluded from the teaching of our history; by losing this historical connection we are losing a key stepping stone into the future, as their tough and adventurous spirit constitutes a crucial part of Koreans' unique traits," he emphasized.

Deregulation required for further economic prosperity

Identifying the root of Koreans, Kim has found the keys to the country's unique economic and cultural achievements. Having served as an elite economic civil servant for over 30 years, he knew more than anyone that what Korea achieved during the past century can be called a miracle.

He explained that Korea's GDP exponentially grew by 45 times during the 60 years from 1960 to 2020, while the global economy's GDP grew by 8.4 times on average during the same period. The 45-times growth, well within a century, is historically unprecedented, considering that Japan's economy grew by 14 times during the 60 years from 1913 to 1970, the U.S. grew by nearly tenfold from 1870 to 1940, and the U.K. grew by 9.4 times from 1700 to 1870.

With the vast economic growth taking place, Korea has become the only country in the world that has transformed into an economic assistance donor from an assistance recipient. Now the country is one of the world's top 10 in various fields, including national GDP, export volume, manufacturing competitiveness, content industry and more.

Kim said that the country's export-driven policies, hard-working culture, and fever for education all partially explain the achievement. But he also attributes the miraculous achievement of the country to the unique traits and dispositions of the Korean people, which is an adventurous, fearless and brave spirit inherited from the northern horse-riding tribespeople.

"Koreans' unique traits can be largely explained with a four-pronged approach. First, with their strong survival instinct, they get tougher in the face of hardships. Second, they're adventurous competitors. They're not afraid of competition, and this explains Koreans' success in adopting capitalism based on competition. Third, Koreans have a strong sense of collectivism. Even the Korean language is unique in that it uses "our" instead of "my," when describing the children, spouses and the home of oneself. Fourth, they're natural pioneers. Koreans are at the top in terms of the number of international migrants by percentage of its population," Kim said.

Decoding the unique DNA traits of Koreans with these four characteristics, Kim highlighted that he remains positive that the country will weather the current crises facing the country. Although he sees that Korea is under various threats from external economic and political situations as well as internal crises from a low birthrate, growing debt and worsening conflicts and divides, he stresses that the country will continue to thrive.

"It seems that it will be the hardest period for the world economy since the Great Depression in the early 1900s. It will be a long fight, as the last 40 years of low inflation and high growth is now over. But Koreans' unique strength will play out, as they get tougher when things get tougher. What is necessary for now is to revive a sense of community through recovering our history," he said.

As Koreans have an entrepreneurial and adventurous spirit, deregulation is the key that would promote raising the country's economy to the next level.

"I see Korea could step up as the world's sixth most powerful country by 2040 if it succeeds at overcoming the current crisis. For the vision to be achieved, the government should let loose the regulations on corporations, so that they can freely compete in the global economy, as that is our unique strength," the former financial policy chief stressed.

Regarding China's consistent distortions of Korean history that have only worsened in recent times, he also said there is nothing to be afraid of.

"We should not be afraid of their distortions of our history. Instead of being enraged, what is important is that we do our research based on truth and let people know about it. We just need to rightfully respond to their attempts to distort history. However, we should never forget about our history," he emphasized.

As for his remaining dream, he said he wishes to write a collection of hero biographies, mostly about independence fighters who lived a hundred years ago under Japan's 36-year rule over the country.

"My last dream is to write a Korean version of Plutarch's Lives. I'd like to convey the courageous spirit of intellectuals of a hundred years ago, who gave up everything and left the country to commit themselves to the independence movement from overseas in Manchuria and the far-east of Russia," Kim recounted, urging to Korean intellectuals that it's time to contribute to overcoming the country's current crisis.