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Sat, June 23, 2018 | 18:50

Opinion > Columnists > Kim Ji-myung >

On history and environment

There are numerous incidents in history which could only be properly explained after seemingly remote factors - that of humans along with environment and ecology - and their interactions were found and connected. One broad example is the fact that the success or failure of sea-faring countries in the Imperialist period between the 15th century to around 1910 largely depended on their skills to cope with the climate, sea and the unfamiliar, tropical regions.

Kim Ji-myung | 2016-01-15 17:06

A special book donation

Do you know what keeps a college professor awake at night as retirement nears? A new lecture position? A plan to write a book? What to do during long, leisurely hours every day? No. The answer is “books.”

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-12-18 16:43

Funding is key factor

The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. Defense Department appears first when we search out the history of the Internet. It was in 1963 that the agency began research to build a reliable communication network that would function normally even in an emergency situation.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-11-20 17:03

Regional studies and language skill

By Kim Ji-myung How much language capacity is required for country-specific study? Or to be more concrete, is it possible for a Korean studies scholar to work without the linguistic competence to read the source materials?It is hardly imaginable that a Chinese studies scholar doesn’t speak or understand written in Chinese or that a Japanese studies expert cannot read documents written in Japanese. Classics and old books of all three countries are in Chinese characters. But this classic literacy issue is one of the major issues facing Korean studies academia, according to a survey condu...

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-10-23 17:08

Solving historical puzzles

Stories of the murder, mysterious death and poisoning of kings and queens inside royal courts are a familiar and intriguing topic of fables and history around the world. And the 519 years of the court history of the Joseon Kingdom is no exception. In many cases, puzzles remain surrounding the truth of these intriguing royal deaths.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-09-25 14:19

'The Korean Mind'

I am writing this article in the hope that somebody will help me get in contact with the author of “The Korean Mind.” Subtitled “Understanding Contemporary Korean Culture” and published by Tuttle Publishing Company, the book is on sale at a major downtown bookstore in Seoul and on the Amazon website.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-08-28 17:07

Korean moms are strong

“Women are weak, but mothers are strong.” And someone said, “Being a mother is learning about strengths that you did not know you had, and dealing with fears you did not know existed.” Korean mothers are famed for their conspicuous dedication to family and children.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-07-31 17:17

On changing foreign textbooks

Did you know that 11 Koreans - experts and staff - work year-round to convince the authorities of other countries to revise parts of their textbooks? I am talking about the CEFIA (Center for International Affairs) of the Academy of Korean Studies. The center is in charge of finding and correcting mistakes, errors and distortions on facts about Korea in school textbooks of other countries.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-07-03 17:13

Bringing truth to light

Kim Moon-ja is a Korean-Japanese historian born in 1951. I know almost nothing about her, except for the information printed in her book. She wrote “The Murder of Joseon Queen and the Japanese,” which was published in 2009 by Koubunken Co. in Japan

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-06-05 17:01

How big is a 'kan'?

One big difficulty that researchers of Korean history face is the issue of units. Length, area, weight, volume and time seem to have been measured by a variety of standards, depending on periods and areas. Old records tell us that most unit systems were made in ancient China and spread to Korea and other neighboring countries. In the case of “pyeong” to measure land and field space, it was exported to Japan during the Three Kingdoms period as a unit of 3.158 square meters as used in the ancient Korean kingdom of Goruryeo and Tang China. Later it was introduced back to Korea by Japan as 3.305...

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-05-08 16:59

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