Past Forward: Essays on Korean History

256 Pages·2018·9.263 MB·English

by  Kyung Moon Hwang

Past Forward

Past Forward

Essays in Korean History
Kyung Moon Hwang
Anthem Press
An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company
www.anthempress.com
This edition first published in UK and USA 2019
by ANTHEM PRESS
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or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK
and
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[© Kyung Moon Hwang 2019]
[The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.]
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise),
without the prior written permission of both the copyright
owner and the above publisher of this book.
British Library Cataloguing-i n- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN- 13: 978- 1- 78308- 878- 2 (Hbk)
ISBN- 10: 1- 78308- 878- 8 (Hbk)
ISBN- 13: 978- 1- 78308- 879- 9 (Pbk)
ISBN- 10: 1- 78308- 879- 6 (Pbk)
This title is also available as an e- book.
CONTENTS

List of Figures ix
Foreword xi
Chronologies of Korean History xiii
Themes xix
Acknowledgments xx
Note on Romanization and Spelling xxi
Part I Circulating History
1. Recycling Names for Korea 2
2. Toppling Tyrants 5
3. Religion and Secularism 8
4. Commemorating the Comfort Women 11
5. May 16 and May 18 14
6. Tragedy and Farce 16
7. Generational Renewal 18
Part II Durable Traditions
8. Marking the New Year 22

9. Slavery, Bondage, and Social Hierarchy 24
10. Marriage, Adultery, and Concubinage 27

11. Buddhism and Korean Identity 29

12. Christianity’s Rapid Rise 33
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13. Civil– Military Balance in Politics 36
14. Regionalism in Elections 39
15. Yeongnam’s Strong Presidential Politics 42
Part III Ancient Remains
16. The Beginnings of Korean History 45
17. Ancient and Present Gaya 48
18. Empress Gi 51
19. Speaking of Northern Korea, not North Korea 53
Part IV Dynastic Depths
20. Currency and National Identity 57
21. Concubine Descendants 61
22. The Real Lives of Gisaeng Courtesans 63
23. A Shocking Execution 65
Part V Modern Origins
24. Jungin, Forerunners to Professionals 69
25. 1894, a Signal Year 72
26. Great Korean Empire 75
27. March First Independence Movement 78
28. The Politics of Disease 82
29. Korean Universities 85
Part VI Challenges of Nationhood
30. Korea’s Past in Light of Brexit 88
31. Openness and Exclusion 91

32. The North Korean View of History 93
33. Another Way to View National Division 95

34. The First National Assembly Elections 98

35. Who Started the Korean War? 101
CONTENTS vii
36. Textbooks and Competing Nationalist Histories 104
37. The Complexities of Memorial Day 107
38. Adoption’s Spotlight on Korean History 111
39. Questioning Monuments 113
40. Taking Ownership of the Past 117
Part VII History Makers
41. Demythologizing King Sejong the Great 121
42. Modern Lady Shin Saimdang 124
43. Five Potential National Heroes 127
44. A Portrait of Great Painters 131
45. Four Young Men from 1884 134
46. Na Hye- seok 137
47. Hyundai Motors and Chung Ju- yung 140
48. Yun Isang and the East Berlin Case 142
49. Ri Young- hee, Iconoclast for Democracy 145
50. Kim Young Sam’s Broad Historical Appeal 148
51. Kim Dae Jung’s Historic Election 151
Part VIII External Presences
52. Korea’s Complicated Relationship with China 154
53. How Chinese was Chinese History? 157
54. Tiananmen and the Power of History 159
55. Lotte between Korea and Japan 161
56. Comfort Women Beholden to History 164

57. A Modest Proposal for Dokdo 167

58. The General Sherman Incident of 1866 170
59. Depictions of the United States 172

60. Overcoming Old Views of Korea– United States Ties 174

61. Foreign Language Dependency 177
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Part IX Trials of Modernization
62. Summer Symmetries 181
63. The Korean War as a Turning Point 183
64. The Students of April 185
65. The Four Ds of South Korean History 188
66. Two Assassinations 191
67. Roads to Revolution 193
68. Dramatizations of the Gwangju Uprising 196
69. The Great Labor Uprising of 1987 199
Part X Gripped by the Past
70. Natural Disasters and the False Wisdom of the Past 203
71. Royal Dangers 205
72. North Korea’s Alternative History 208
73. Origins of Korea’s Political Corruption 211
74. Anti- Communism’s Powerful Hold 214
75. Fraudulent Captains of the Sewol Ferry Disaster 217
76. Overcoming Past Hierarchies 219
77. Gripped by the Authoritarian Mindset 221
78. Ways of Living History 224
Index 226
FIGURES

4.1 Original comfort woman statue in front of the Japanese
Embassy, Seoul 13
4.2 Replica comfort woman statue in front of the former
Japanese consulate building, Mokpo, South Korea 13
11.1 Jogyesa Temple in downtown Seoul 29
11.2 Bulguksa Temple, Gyeongju, South Korea 30
11.3 Wooden Blocks of the Tripitaka Koreana, Haeinsa
Temple, South Korea 31
17.1 Entrance to the Gaya Theme Park, Gimhae, South Korea 50
19.1 Replica of the stele, in Manchuria, commemorating
the exploits of King Gwanggaeto 55
20.1 The four South Korean paper bills, featuring Toegye (Yi Hwang),
King Sejong the Great, Sin Saimdang, and Yulgok (Yi I) 57
20.2 Statue of Yulgok, Ojukheon Museum, Gangneung,
South Korea 58
23.1 Section of the wall of Suwon Fortress, originally built in the
late eighteenth century to commemorate Prince Sado 65
23.2 Statue of King Jeongjo, Suwon Fortress, Suwon, South Korea 66
25.1 Bronze statue of Jeon Bongjun, leader of the Donghak forces
of 1894, next to a subway entrance, downtown Seoul 74
27.1 Pagoda Park, site of the initial public reading of the March
First Declaration of Independence, downtown Seoul 78
27.2 Re enactment of March First demonstrations on the
grounds of a local high school, Busan, South Korea 79

28.1 Ji Seog- yeong 83

28.2 Baek In- je 83
35.1 Memorial to the Korean War’s Battle of White Horse Hill,

Cheorwon, South Korea 101
37.1 Gravesites in the National Cemetery (Hyeonchungwon),

southern Seoul 107
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37.2 Memorial statue and fountain at the entrance to the
National Cemetery 108
39.1 Entrance to the Independence Hall museum complex,
Cheonan, South Korea 115
39.2 A display within Independence Hall 115
41.1 Statue of Jang Yeong- sil, legendary inventor from the
King Sejong era 123
42.1 Statue of Sin Saimdang, Ojukheon Museum, Gangneung,
South Korea 126
43.1 Yu Gil- jun 128
43.2 An Chang- ho 128
43.3 Choe Yong- sin 128
43.4 Han Yong- un 128
45.1 The four leaders of the 1884 coup (from left): Bak Yeong- ho,
Seo Gwang- beom, Seo Jae- pil, Gim Ok- gyun 134
46.1 Na Hye- seok 138
49.1 Ri Young- hee 146
55.1 Lotte World Tower, southeastern Seoul 163
56.1 Exhibit on “Comfort Stations”, National Memorial Museum
of Forced Mobilization, Busan, South Korea 166
60.1 Memorial plaque in dedication to the UN forces who
participated in the Korean War 175
64.1 Entrance to the April 19th Memorial Hall, downtown Seoul 186
68.1 May 18 National Cemetery, Gwangju, South Korea 198
77.1 Commemorative photo of President Park Chung Hee at the
1970 groundbreaking ceremony 222