Examples of Distortions

US: “Chinese Tang Dynasty in fact ruled Silla after Goguryeo and Baekje had been destroyed …” (Secondary School Social Studies, World Religions, Brown, 1993. – Corrected in 1994 edition)

Japan: “Yi-Joseon became Ming’s colony …” (High School, Detailed World History, YamaKawa Publishers, 1994.)

Comment

According to Korea’s foundation legend, the beginning of the nation’s history goes back to the days of Go-Joseon, the first nation established by Dan-gun wanggeom in about 2,333 B.C. This is a source of great pride among Koreans.

 During its long history, however, Korea was subject to constant invasions from neighboring countries including China and Japan and at one time faced the prospect of total collapse. However, Koreans have never ceased to guard their autonomous identity by fiercely resisting and fighting against the invasive forces.

 Historically, Korea maintained an inseparably close relationship with her neighbor, China. Such a relationship was maintained through tributary diplomacy which was a formal acknowledgment of the reality of China’s superior power. “Tribute” was a gesture of friendship made when two countries made official contact and was a kind of economic barter of rare items.

 From the Three Kingdoms Period, Korea carried out tributary diplomacy with China, and official contacts between the two countries were maintained accordingly. Hierarchy between the two countries was established through the tributary relationship. However, tributary diplomacy did not mean that China had colonized Korea nor that Korea’s independence had been destroyed. Cultural exchanges and commercial trade were based on the understanding and acknowledgement of China’s superior power. Many countries in East Asia including Korea were able to achieve political stability and satisfy economic and cultural needs by approaching China through this form of diplomacy.

 Past of the evidence indication Korea’s independence was the use of an independent reign title, which expressed and enhanced the nation’s sense of sovereignty. In the even that China threatened or infringed upon Korea’s independence, Korea boldly resisted and fought back. For example, Goguryeo fought against and annihilated the Chinese invaders of the Su (隋) and Tang (唐) Dynasties. Silla ran the Tang forces out of Korea and unified the Three Kingdoms (Silla, Baekje and Goguryeo). Goryeo attempted to conquer the Liaodong region of China during the latter days of the Goryeo period. Similar examples can be found in the case of Joseon which had a tributary relationship with the Ming (明) Dynasty of China. However, Joseon planned a war against Ming and trained its military when Ming violated Joseon’s autonomy. In light of these historic facts, describing Joseon as a colony of Ming China is a distortion and a misunderstanding of traditional diplomacy in East Asia.

 Hence, it is a clear misreading of history for foreign textbooks to describe Korea as China’s former colony. As a matter of fact, this is a most serious distortion of history and must be corrected as a matter of priority.