Past Forward

Kyung Moon Hwang

Description

A wide-ranging collection of concise essays, Past Forward introduces core features of Korean history that illuminate current issues and pressing concerns, including recent political upheavals, social developments and cultural shifts. Adapted from Kyung Moon Hwang’s regular columns in the Korea Times of Seoul, the essays present interpretative points concerning historical debates and controversies to generate thinking about the ongoing impact of the past on the present and vice versa: how Korea’s present circumstances reflect and shape the evolving understanding of its past. In taking the reader on a compelling journey through history, Past Forward paints a distinctive, fascinating portrait of Korea and Koreans both yesterday and today.

List of Figures; Foreword; Chronologies of Korean History; Themes; Acknowledgments; Note on Romanization and Spelling; Part I Circulating History; 1. Recycling Names for Korea; 2. Toppling Tyrants; 3. Religion and Secularism; 4. Commemorating the Comfort Women; 5. May 16 and May 18; 6. Tragedy and Farce; 7. Generational Renewal; Part II Durable Traditions; 8. Marking the New Year; 9. Slavery , Bondage, and Social Hierarchy; 10. Marriage, Adultery, and Concubinage; 11. Buddhism and Korean Identity; 12. Christianity ’s Rapid Rise; 13. Civil– Military Balance in Politics; 14. Regionalism in Elections; 15. Yeongnam’s Strong Presidential Politics; Part III Ancient Remains; 16. The Beginnings of Korean History; 17. Ancient and Present Gaya; 18. Empress Gi; 19. Speaking of Northern Korea , not North Korea; Part IV Dynastic Depths; 20. Currency and National Identity; 21. Concubine Descendants; 22. The Real Lives of Gisaeng Courtesans; 23. A Shocking Execution; Part V Modern Origins; 24. Jungin, Forerunners to Professionals; 25. 1894, a Signal Year; 26. Great Korean Empire; 27. March First Independence Movement; 28. The Politics of Disease; 29. Korean Universities; Part VI Challenges of Nationhood; 30. Korea’s Past in Light of Brexit; 31. Openness and Exclusion; 32. The North Korean View of History; 33. Another Way to View National Division; 34. The First National Assembly Elections; 35. Who Started the Korean War ?; 36. Textbooks and Competing Nationalist Histories; 37. The Complexities of Memorial Day; 38. Adoption’s Spotlight on Korean History; 39. Questioning Monuments; 40. Taking Ownership of the Past; Part VII History Makers; 41. Demythologizing King Sejong the Great; 42. Modern Lady Shin Saimdang; 43. Five Potential National Heroes; 44. A Portrait of Great Painters; 45. Four Young Men from 1884; 46. Na Hye- seok; 47. Hyundai Motors and Chung Ju- yung; 48. Yun Isang and the East Berlin Case; 49. Ri Young- hee , Iconoclast for Democracy; 50. Kim Young Sam’s Broad Historical Appeal; 51. Kim Dae Jung ’s Historic Election; Part VIII External Presences; 52. Korea’s Complicated Relationship with China; 53. How Chinese was Chinese History?; 54. Tiananmen and the Power of History; 55. Lotte between Korea and Japan; 56. Comfort Women Beholden to History; 57. A Modest Proposal for Dokdo; 58. The General Sherman Incident of 1866; 59. Depictions of the United States; 60. Overcoming Old Views of Korea– United States Ties; 61. Foreign Language Dependency; Part IX Trials of Modernization; 62. Summer Symmetries; 63. The Korean War as a Turning Point; 64. The Students of April; 65. The Four Ds of South Korean History; 66. Two Assassinations; 67. Roads to Revolution; 68. Dramatizations of the Gwangju Uprising; 69. The Great Labor Uprising of 1987; Part X Gripped by the Past; 70. Natural Disasters and the False Wisdom of the Past; 71. Royal Dangers; 72. North Korea ’s Alternative History; 73. Origins of Korea’s Political Corruption; 74. Anti- Communism’s Powerful Hold; 75. Fraudulent Captains of the Sewol Ferry Disaster; 76. Overcoming Past Hierarchies; 77. Gripped by the Authoritarian Mindset; 78. Ways of Living History; Index.

Sujets

• Christianisme
• Corée
• Asia
• Korea
• Social sciences
• HISTORY

Informations

• Publié par: Anthem Press
• Date de parution: 16 janvier 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783088812
• Langue: English

Extrait

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
75–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK
or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK
and
244 Madison Ave #116, New York, NY 10016, USA
[© 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-in-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
Foreword
Chronologies of Korean History
Themes
Acknowledgments
Note on Romanization and Spelling
Part I Circulating History
1. Recycling Names for Korea
2. Toppling Tyrants
3. Religion and Secularism
4. Commemorating the Comfort Women
5. May 16 and May 18
6. Tragedy and Farce
7. Generational Renewal
Part II Durable Traditions
8. Marking the New Year
9. Slavery, Bondage, and Social Hierarchy
10. Marriage, Adultery, and Concubinage
11. Buddhism and Korean Identity
12. Christianity’s Rapid Rise
13. Civil–Military Balance in Politics
14. Regionalism in Elections
15. Yeongnam’s Strong Presidential Politics
Part III Ancient Remains
16. The Beginnings of Korean History
17. Ancient and Present Gaya
18. Empress Gi
19. Speaking of Northern Korea, not North Korea
Part IV Dynastic Depths
20. Currency and National Identity
21. Concubine Descendants
22. The Real Lives of Gisaeng Courtesans
23. A Shocking Execution
Part V Modern Origins
24. Jungin, Forerunners to Professionals
25. 1894, a Signal Year
26. Great Korean Empire
27. March First Independence Movement
28. The Politics of Disease
29. Korean Universities
Part VI Challenges of Nationhood
30. Korea’s Past in Light of Brexit
31. Openness and Exclusion
32. The North Korean View of History
33. Another Way to View National Division
34. The First National Assembly Elections
35. Who Started the Korean War?
36. Textbooks and Competing Nationalist Histories
37. The Complexities of Memorial Day
38. Adoption’s Spotlight on Korean History
39. Questioning Monuments
40. Taking Ownership of the Past
Part VII History Makers
41. Demythologizing King Sejong the Great
42. Modern Lady Shin Saimdang
43. Five Potential National Heroes
44. A Portrait of Great Painters
45. Four Young Men from 1884
46. Na Hye-seok
47. Hyundai Motors and Chung Ju-yung
48. Yun Isang and the East Berlin Case
49. Ri Young-hee, Iconoclast for Democracy
50. Kim Young Sam’s Broad Historical Appeal
51. Kim Dae Jung’s Historic Election
Part VIII External Presences
52. Korea’s Complicated Relationship with China
53. How Chinese was Chinese History?
54. Tiananmen and the Power of History
55. Lotte between Korea and Japan
56. Comfort Women Beholden to History
57. A Modest Proposal for Dokdo
58. The General Sherman Incident of 1866
59. Depictions of the United States
60. Overcoming Old Views of Korea–United States Ties
61. Foreign Language Dependency
Part IX Trials of Modernization
62. Summer Symmetries
63. The Korean War as a Turning Point
64. The Students of April
65. The Four Ds of South Korean History
66. Two Assassinations
67. Roads to Revolution
68. Dramatizations of the Gwangju Uprising
69. The Great Labor Uprising of 1987
Part X Gripped by the Past
70. Natural Disasters and the False Wisdom of the Past
71. Royal Dangers
72. North Korea’s Alternative History
73. Origins of Korea’s Political Corruption
74. Anti-Communism’s Powerful Hold
75. Fraudulent Captains of the Sewol Ferry Disaster
76. Overcoming Past Hierarchies
77. Gripped by the Authoritarian Mindset
78. Ways of Living History
Index
Figures
4.1 Original comfort woman statue in front of the Japanese Embassy, Seoul
4.2 Replica comfort woman statue in front of the former Japanese consulate building, Mokpo, South Korea
11.1 Jogyesa Temple in downtown Seoul
11.2 Bulguksa Temple, Gyeongju, South Korea
11.3 Wooden Blocks of the Tripitaka Koreana , Haeinsa Temple, South Korea
17.1 Entrance to the Gaya Theme Park, Gimhae, South Korea
19.1 Replica of the stele, in Manchuria, commemorating the exploits of King Gwanggaeto
20.1 The four South Korean paper bills, featuring Toegye (Yi Hwang), King Sejong the Great, Sin Saimdang, and Yulgok (Yi I)
20.2 Statue of Yulgok, Ojukheon Museum, Gangneung, South Korea
23.1 Section of the wall of Suwon Fortress, originally built in the late eighteenth century to commemorate Prince Sado
23.2 Statue of King Jeongjo, Suwon Fortress, Suwon, South Korea
25.1 Bronze statue of Jeon Bongjun, leader of the Donghak forces of 1894, next to a subway entrance, downtown Seoul
27.1 Pagoda Park, site of the initial public reading of the March First Declaration of Independence, downtown Seoul
27.2 Reenactment of March First demonstrations on the grounds of a local high school, Busan, South Korea
28.1 Ji Seog-yeong
28.2 Baek In-je
35.1 Memorial to the Korean War’s Battle of White Horse Hill, Cheorwon, South Korea
37.1 Gravesites in the National Cemetery (Hyeonchungwon), southern Seoul
37.2 Memorial statue and fountain at the entrance to the National Cemetery
39.1 Entrance to the Independence Hall museum complex, Cheonan, South Korea
39.2 A display within Independence Hall
41.1 Statue of Jang Yeong-sil, legendary inventor from the King Sejong era
42.1 Statue of Sin Saimdang, Ojukheon Museum, Gangneung, South Korea
43.1 Yu Gil-jun
43.2 An Chang-ho
43.3 Choe Yong-sin
43.4 Han Yong-un
45.1 The four leaders of the 1884 coup (from left): Bak Yeong-ho, Seo Gwang-beom, Seo Jae-pil, Gim Ok-gyun
46.1 Na Hye-seok
49.1 Ri Young-hee
55.1 Lotte World Tower, southeastern Seoul
56.1 Exhibit on “Comfort Stations”, National Memorial Museum of Forced Mobilization, Busan, South Korea
60.1 Memorial plaque in dedication to the UN forces who participated in the Korean War
64.1 Entrance to the April 19th Memorial Hall, downtown Seoul
68.1 May 18 National Cemetery, Gwangju, South Korea
77.1 Commemorative photo of President Park Chung Hee at the 1970 groundbreaking ceremony
Foreword
How does Korean history connect the past to the present? This question runs through the current collection of short essays, which are adapted from a dedicated newspaper column, “Korean Historical Sense,” that I wrote for The Korea Times of Seoul from 2014 to 2017.
As a historian I fully recognize the past as valuable in itself, without necessarily a connection to today. But it was not my charge in this column just to illuminate interesting features of Korean history, but rather to consider how history informs a range of current concerns, from national identity to the overlaps between Korea and other cultures. The universalities, then, as well as the particularities of Koreans’ historical experience encourage thinking about the impact of the country’s past, and especially about the perception of that past, today.
Therefore, a focus on the development of historical understanding, or in other words, on the history of historical views , serves as this book’s unifying theme. It seeks to gauge the constant dialogue between Korea’s history, from its beginnings to the most recent developments, and Korea’s present—an exercise that entails not only considering how the past informs the present, but just as importantly, how the present affects the past. In such a dynamic, then, the present moves backward as much as the past moves forward.
And because this was a newspaper column, I often attempted to let a current concern trigger the historical topic to explore. Some of these original references have been removed in this volume so that it can function as a stand-alone collection of essays, but it will be clear to the reader that many themes, from politics to culture and international relations, are covered. But all of these essays are undergirded by the core idea that the elasticity of history stretches to transcend barriers in time as well as place.
The essays are divided into ten thematic Parts that all illustrate this general idea. The sections do not appear in any particular order, although the essays within each part are presented somewhat chronologically. Readers who wish to place each essay in the flow of major periods and events a