I think part of the problem here is that these vank people and perhaps the contributor above, are confusing this type of relationship with modern ones such as colonialism or client state type relationships. This is completely different to the meaning of vassal state in the context of the premodern East Asian (Sino-centric) world order.

Having discussed this issue with a friend the other day, I did concede that perhaps this sort of statement about the history of Korea should be ‘hedged’ or contextualised so that people don’t make the same mistake. I can’t remember the actual context of the reference to Chos?n as a vassal in the BM Korea gallery. Since I work pretty much next door I’ll go and have a look in the near future.

Wrong. Korea WAS a vassal state. Korea paid tribute to China (including sending virgin women) and the Korean King put his forehead to the ground every year to the emissary send from China. The Korean King wore red because only the Chinese emperor could wear yellow. The Korean state philosophy was Confucianism because the Chinese told them to adopt it. Old Korean flags have the characters ‘vassal state of China’ in them. Koreans used to have an ‘Arc of Gratitude’ to the Chinese before they got independence (secured by Japan). Then they turned it into the independence gate - independence from what? China!

??????????, you are a kyopo with a seriously warped sense of history.

Now granted, take out the Indian Subcontinent and its still oceans aplenty, but doesn’t this mean that the name “Sea of Japan” is even more apt that “Indian Ocean” or “the English Channel?”

How about the Adriatic Sea? It only belongs to the Sons of Atreus!!!

Bet India would be pretty pissed if everyone started calling it the Sri Lankan Ocean.

korea was a vassal of china in name only.

now, would it have been hard to write it like that? simply calling chosun a vassal implies that korea was just a province of china which it was not.

‘facts, much like laws don’t mean a thing..’

i’ll bet you’re a bush supporter, no?

If you make friends with a foreign friend,
World 6 billion people will love my friend’s country, Korea.

If you make friends with a foreign friend,
70 million of Korean people will love my friend’s country, Korea.

Then the Korea, the country where we can share Dreams, Friendships with the rest of the World, will be come true.

1. What is VANK?

VANK stands for “Voluntary Agency Network of Korea”. VANK were established on January first, 1999, by a christian who have a vision which could change Korea significantly.
By now we consist of more than 13,000 volunteer people.”

Huh? What was that about them studying English too much? What the heck are they saying? All I know is 13,000 people are doing it… I read someone on some blog (see how specific I am?) talking about Korean Christian missionaries teaching people to become as much Korean as they do Christian (something about Mexican kids memorizing the dwen-jang commandments). I don’t know if that’s true, but I can’t see why a Christian organization sees it necessary to teach the world to “recognize Korea as their friendly country like an intimate friend.”
“…more essential problem is that foreigners don’t love Korea.” Hmmmmmm…. Well, presonally, I love it here~

Speaking of Arirang, the dude who hosts the weird Quiz Champions show (where Korean kids compete against other Korean kids - definitely VITAL for for those watching Arirang hoping to gain insight into Korean culture) was the featured bachelor du jour on Singles In Seoul the other day. He was as exciting on that program as he is on his show. Meaning “not”.