It ain’t over until the fat lady sings and it turns out that maybe our lady has a pretty loud voice after all . . .

1) ?짚???짯?????????짯??쨈 ??졙?????쩌?징짹??짯?????쩌 ?짚???짯??짯????징흹 ??짚?짚???™€??짚. ?쨀??????짚 ??짯?????? ?쨌쨍??째 ?짠???쩍?????흹 ??쨈??쨈??? ???????째???????짚. ????짠???? ????쨍째?째???쨈?????쨍 ????쨔???짹?????? ??쨈?흹??째???????? ?짼???쨈??짚. ??째???????????쨋??째짢????????흹 ?쨀????????흹쩌?징흹 ?흸????????짠??????짼???짚. ??쩌?징? ????쨋??????흹 ?흸??짹???? ??쨍??째?짠??????????짹쨈 ????????짚. ?째?????짠???????? ?쩔???쨈?짠??짠흸 ????쨈????짚??짚?징흹 ????쨀? ??쨍?????쑣?쨀쩌 ??흸?????쩌 ????쨀? ????쨀? ??쑩???????짠??????짼흸 ????쨋??째짢?????? ?쨀??????짚??? ??째??? ??쑣?????????? ?흸??짹???? ??쨍??째?쨀? ?????짚. ?짚???짯????????짚???™€??р꽓??쩌?????????? ??졙?????쩌?징짹 ??짯????쨔흸?짠????징?????쨈??™€??짚. 90????흸??쨋???째??????흹??짯??? ?쨍째???? ???????째?, ????????짢?짼쨈??쑣??쨈 ?흸??짹째 ?짠??쨋흹?????쨈??흹 2?째짹?짠흸 ??째??? ???????째???짹째??쩌???????????쨋? 3??짹??? ??쩌?째???? ????째???? ?????? ?짼???쨈??짚.

2) ?짚???짯??쨈??쩌?????흸??????짯?째???? ??쨔??짹??? ??졙?????쩌?징짹??? ??징?????쨈 ????쨍째 ??짯????징흹 ?짠흸??쑣??짚?????짚???™€?????쨍 ?쨍째?짠???? ?짢쩌??????쨈??쨈?????쨈 ????쨋??째???흸????????????짼??????????짚????흹쩌?징흹 ??쨍??흹??쨈?짼째??? ????????쨈 ????짠??????????짚.

Here’s the definition of “?짚???™€?, courtesy Yahoo’s Korean dictionary:

1.[?짚???쨍짯)?????짚???????™€????)??????쨍??™€??쩌?????흹??????흹] ?짠???흹???,??흹??쩌?징짹(챈쩌?챈째?샖??)??쨈 ??쩌?쨀???? ??쩌?징짹??? ?흸??????? ????쨍째??짚 ??쩌?징짹??? ????????쩌??? ??쨈??쨈??? ?짠?.
2.?짚???짯(?쨍짯?흹?).

Basically, what Lee is saying is that if we (Koreans) first understand Chinese feelings of “Junghwa” (i.e. the central/superior position of their culture vis-a-vis surrounding peoples) — with which China absorbs the histories of minority peoples into its own — we can see that a government response would do no real good in solving the problem. Lee also tends to see Chinese historical policies toward Koguryo in a defensive light - after all, he points out, tons of Korean tourists, scholars, and businesses have been pouring into China since the 90s, not to mention that there are two million ethnic Koreans living in China, so this has to be sensitive issue. In the later regard, he might be right — China does tend to have “issues” with its ethnic minorities — but as far as Chinese inclinations toward looking upon themselves as the center of the region, I don’t buy it. Yes, the Chinese have traditionally looked upon themselves as superior to their neighbors, but then again, Japan has a very long and proud tradition of ethnic chauvinism, but that didn’t stop the Korean government from issueing very strong protests (including the cutting off of military contacts and the recall of the ambassador in 2001) when the Japanese Ministry of Education approved a textbook that claimed, among other things, that the Kaya Kingdom was a Japanese colony and the Three Kingdoms paid tribute to Yamato Japan. Besides, it would seem wise if Korea made it a point to nip this “Middle Kingdom” stuff in the bud before it gets out of hand — you don’t want Beijing to get in the habit of demanding respect from the barbarians just because it’s China.

Of course, if the North is behind this, and even if for political reasons, the smuggling is a very bad strategy since it would enable China to claim that ‘Korea is trying to steal Goguryeo from the Chinese.’

As for Minister of Culture and Tourism Lee Chang-dong and his remark that the Goguryeo issue should be left to the historians, this would be appropriate if he were speaking about U.S. historians. In the case of Chinese historians, however, the remark is inappropriate because China’s official policy seems to be one of claiming that Goguryeo was always Chinese. If the Korea Times article is correct, then Lee himself recognizes this:

“According to Lee, China has long considered their territory the center of the world, which has often misled the Chinese into historical distortions.”

I’m not sure how much credibility to give this, though, since the Times is paraphrasing Lee rather than quoting directly. Does anybody know his exact words? If he did state this, then it seems an inconsistency for him to urge the matter to be left to historians. Or was he perhaps implicitly admonishing China for not leaving the issue to historians?

What do the rest of you think? Should the Korean government take a strong line against China on this? They certainly would do so against Japan’s distortions of history.

Jeffery Hodges

I would never condone the smuggling of cultural and historical properties, under any circumstances.

So I don’t know for this case, but it is not just an issue with Korea. And arguably, any government is responsible for the preservation of what is on its territory.