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임진왜란 이후 국교 재개와 동아시아에 미친 영향
Restoration of Diplomatic Relations After the Imjin War The 1592-1598 Imjin War involved Japanese attacks on Korea. It was the first time Japan invaded a dynasty on the Korean peninsula. Technically, there was a much earlier attack in 663 called the Battle of Baekgang, but it hardly counts as an attack since it was launched by pro-Baekje forces in Japan seeking to reinstate the ancient Korean kingdom Baekje. Prior to the Imjin War, Korea had never in its history been under national threat from Japan. Only bands of Japanese pirates would threaten certain areas on the Korean peninsula while major Japanese clans or the daimyo of Tsushima domain would repeatedly pledge their loyalty toward and commit treason against Joseon. The Imjin War can therefore be considered the first nationwide attack on the Korean peninsula that Japan launched as a country. Once the seven-year-long war came to an end with Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death, Japan was the first to extend a hand of peace to the Korean kingdom of Joseon. However, Joseon kept refusing Japan’s offer out of fear of being invaded again and was conscious about how Ming China would react. It put off its decision by saying it was up to Ming China.
Min Deok-kee (Professor, History and Culture Department, Cheongju University)
임진왜란, 동아시아 평화의 거울
The Imjin War, a Mirror of East Asian Peace The year of 2018 marks the 420th anniversary of the end of the 1592-1598 Imjin War. Since the war, the Korean peninsula’s fate of having to struggle in finding ways to survive among powerful countries hasn’t changed much. As a perceptive expert in analyzing the history of mid Joseon, Professor Han Myung-gi of Myongji University claims that the Imjin War should serve as a mirror reflecting today rather than the past, which implies that Korea should bear in mind what it learned from the war and use it as a stepping stone for establishing peace in Northeast Asia. As expectations rise for peace on the Korean peninsula in May 2018, this month’s interview turns to Professor Han to examine the significance of studying the Imjin War as well as the implications such history carries for the rapid changes now taking place in East Asia.
Youn You-sook (Research fellow, NAHF Institute of Japanese Studies)
중국 산동대학 ‘임진전쟁’ 학술회의에 다녀와서
Academic Conference on the Imjin War at Shandong University I attended the academic conference held between April 13 to 15 at Shandong University under the theme “Imjin War and the Political Ecology in Japan, Joseon, and Ming Dynasty.” A total of 50 or so scholars from Korea, China, Japan, and Hong Kong attended the conference and enthusiastically participated in discussions related to the conference’s theme. Professor Chen Shang-sheng, who organized the conference, began by introducing a multi-year project named “The Collection, Organization, Translation, and Research of Historical Material Related to the Imjin War” that Shandong University’s School of History and Culture has been working on with support from China’s National Social Science Fund. Professor Chen explained that the conference was being held annually so that the university may share and review the project’s outcomes. This year’s conference was the second following the first conference held last year on historical memory. Through future conferences, the university plans to look at the Imjin War from various aspects such as economics and diplomacy. Although it has been stated that the Shandong University project’s focus lies in systematically accumulating and digitalizing historical material related to the Imjin War, those involved in the project seemed to be very careful about discussing the project’s details and how they plan to share its outcomes internationally.
Hong Myeon-ki (Research fellow, NAHF Research Institute of Korea-China Relations)
경계를 넘은 역사교육, 유로클리오
EUROCLIO, Teaching History Beyond Our Horizons Established at the request of the Council of Europe for post-integration history education in Europe, the European Association of History Educators (EUROCLIO) hosts a conference with workshops each year. This year’s conference was held between the 21 and 26 of April in Marseille, France. Under the theme “Mediterranean Dialogues: Teaching History Beyond Our Horizons,” the conference sought to figure out how to teach Mediterranean history from not only a European perspective, but as a history shared with countries in Northern Africa and the Middle East. The theme made me realize that I too had been biased by blindly regarding Mediterranean history as European history despite having been a proponent of teaching various perspectives so that children may develop unbiased views of history.
Jo Hyun-suh (Teacher, Hwibong High School)
임진왜란 직전, 히데요시를 직접 만난 조선통신사
Joseon Tongsinsa’s Meeting with Hideyoshi Before the Imjin War Joseon Tongsinsa refers to diplomatic missions the king of the Korean kingdom Joseon officially sent to the chief ruler of Japan. How did Tongsinsa begin and what role did it perform as relations between the two countries went through change? The year of 2019 will mark the 590th year since the first Tongsinsa mission was sent in 1429, so this series called Tongsinsa Stories will review Joseon Tongsinsa as a cultural delegation representative of the Korean dynasty's diplomatic history with Japan.
Kim Kyong-tae (Research professor, Korea University CORE Program)
NAHF News Between the 21 and 26 of April 2018, the Northeast Asian History Foundation (NAHF) hosted a workshop and a session at the 25th annual conference of the European Association of History Educators (EUROCLIO). EUROCLIO is an umbrella organization that facilitates individuals or organizations related to history education in authoring joint history textbooks and exchanging didactics to resolve historical conflicts in Europe. NAHF has been involved in exchange with EUROCLIO since 2016. From April 22, NAHF hosted a two-day workshop for those involved in joint history textbooks. The workshop’s purpose was to help those involved in history textbook development in Europe establish connections with those involved in developing the Korea-China-Japan joint history textbook. The event was able to offer new inspirations for exchanging information and developing joint history textbooks in East Asia. On April 24, NAHF hosted a session for Korean history teachers who presented about the direction of narratives in Korean textbooks, cases on teaching history in class and through extracurricular activities, and efforts to resolve historical conflicts involving Korea. Professor Maurizio Riotto of the University of Naples chaired the session and moderated discussions based on presentations given by current Korean history teachers Kwon Oh-cheong from Gajeul High School, Bang Dae-gwang from Korea University High School, and Jo Hyun-suh from Hwibong High School. Following this annual conference, NAHF plans to invite to Korea European teachers who are EUROCLIO members and introduce methodologies used for history education in 28 different countries that are part of the European Union. The history teachers from Europe will also be asked to perform demonstrations at Korean schools on how they carry out lessons in class. Their visit is expected to serve as a good opportunity to learn from Europe’s experience of integration and study European cases of history education.
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