Examples of Distortions
Japan:
¡°The Yamato Administration, which ruled Japan, expanded its power to the
southern region of Korea in about the 4th century in search of steel and the
superior technology of the continent¡¦¡±(Middle School Social Studies, History,
Kyoiku Publishers, 1993)
US: The
southern part of Korea is marked as part of an Imna Japanese outpost on a map.
(Secondary School Social Studies, World Cultures, Prentice Hall,
1993)
Comment
The argument that ancient Japan
ruled the southern region of Korea (the ancient Japanese military outpost,
Mimana (369~562), is a story trumped up by the Japanese imperialists during the
late 19th century while Japan legitimizing its occupation of
Korea.
According to this story, ancient
Silla
and Baekje sent
tribute to Japan¡¯s Yamato Administration. Then, the Yamato Administration
invaded the southeastern region of the Korean Peninsula in about 369 and
established a Japanese military outpost in the Gaya region. The Yamato
Administration is said to have colonized and ruled this area for about 200 years
until 562. However, there are serious flaws in this interpretation of
history.
First Korean scholars believe that
the Nihon Seogi,(ìíÜâßöѺ), on which Japanese scholars base the Japanese
outpost idea was authored by Baekje exiles or their descendants. Because of
this, it is very possible that the author(s), who were exiled from a ruined
kingdom (Baekje) embellished their story to favor Japan or to enhance the
prestige of Japan¡¯s rulers. Other evidence that the records in the Nihon
Seogi are not true is found in the Kojiki, which was written eight years
before the Nihon Seogi. The Kojiki does not contain any record of any
Japanese military outpost in Korea.
Second, considering the power
structure of East Asia, Japan was not capable of advancing onto the Korean
Peninsula from the fourth to the sixth century. At that time, no unified nation
existed in Japan. Furthermore, Japan did not have the shipbuilding skills to
build ships to carry out a large-scale military operation overseas. In other
words, China was the most powerful country followed by Korea. Japan was very
weak at that time. Third, assuming, for argument sake, that a Japanese military
outpost had indeed existed in Korea, it would then be natural to assume that
ruins or artifacts remaining from that era would remain. For example, artifacts
from Goguryeo¡¯s King Gwanggaeto, were discovered in Gyeongju. Gyeongju was the
capital of Silla, but Goguryeo had control over Silla at that time. Contrary to
this, not a single artifact indicating Japan¡¯s supposed presence in Korea has
been found in the region even though Japan allegedly ruled the region for about
200 years. This is another piece of evidence suggesting that Japan¡¯s allegation
that it had colonized the southeastern part of Korea is false.
Fourth, from the end of the fourth
century, many Baekje people emigrated to Japan. During their journey to Japan,
Baekje people stayed in the Gaya region. A commercial house was established for
those staying in Gaya at that time, and Japan may have distorted this commercial
house into the Japanese military outpost.
No one denies that Japanese pirated
from the western part of Japan invaded and looted the southeastern shores of the
Korean Peninsula, and because of this, there were military confrontations
between the ancient kingdoms of Korea and the Japanese pirates. However, it is a
great distortion of history to argue that Japan conquered the southern region of
the Korean Peninsula and ruled the region for a long time through its military
outpost.
The question of whether there was a Japanese military outpost is the
subject of intense debate between Korea and Japan in regard to ancient relations
between the two counties. Korean scholars continue to argue and have provide
proof that the Japanese military outpost idea is a fabrication of the Japanese
colonialists. Any reference to this should therefore be stricken from the
textbooks and reference materials of other countries.
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