Newsletter

Ceremony for the completion of the Foundation’s 

first term education course of Dokdo exhibition presentation 

On September 17, 31 people, who, in 2019, completed the Northeast Asian History Foundation’s first-term education course for giving Dokdo exhibition presentations, received certificates of completion in the Foundation’s conference room. The education course was conducted for officials of regional Dokdo exhibition centers and ordinary citizens, who wanted to learn about Dokdo’s geography, history, and international law every Tuesday for five weeks starting from August 20. A field trip to Ulleungdo and Dokdo is scheduled for the 31 potential presenters in October; ordinary citizens who complete the field curriculum will work as exhibition presenters for the Dokdo Exhibition Center after going through intensive courses in the future. 

Operation of programs commemorating the seventh anniversary of 

Dokdo Experience Center 

The Foundation’s Dokdo Experience Center has marked its seventh anniversary this year since it opened in 2012. To celebrate the center’s seventh anniversary, a variety of programs were featured. An educational program, called “I Am the King of Dokdo Quiz,” was held for elementary school students. Lecturers presented on subjects from diverse fields, including some from the Foreign Ministry and the National Institute of Ecology, offering career classes for middle and high school students with the theme “People Defending Dokdo.” Over the weekend, experiential programs like “Dokdo badge making” were held. The Dokdo Experience Center will continue to operate experiential programs. 

“Korea-Japan Historical Issues: Overcoming Japan’s Colonial Rule” published 

The Foundation has published the book “Korea-Japan Historical Issues: Overcoming Japan’s Colonial Rule” by condensing 11 historical issues related to Japan’s colonial rule from the book “Korea-Japan Historical Issues Seen via 20 Topics” which had been well-received by readers since it was published early this year. It is a highly anticipated guide for navigating ongoing issues that exist between Korea and Japan as it covers diverse topics from the Russo-Japanese War to Japan’s textbook controversy. 

Northeast Asian History Foundation Educational Book Series 14:

“Breakup of Modernism for Peace” 

The Foundation has published the book “Breakup of Modernism for Peace” by Prof. Jeong Tae-heon of Korean history from Korea University, as part of the Educational Book Series for the public, which has been in the limelight this year. The book sheds new light on the existence of colonial modernization theory that refers to “economic growth” in a colony, even still in 2019, the centennial of the March First Independence Movement. It looks into the true image of colonial capitalism and the fallacy of the benefit theory of imperialism. The book also delves into the optical illusion related to the colonial period during which the colonial capitalism without national sovereignty was understood vaguely as the same as capitalism and the book discusses the dangerousness of this view. 

“Symposium regarding the status of damages from Japan’s colonial period 

and related tasks” held 

The Foundation held a symposium under the theme of “Status of damages from Japan’s colonial period and related tasks” with the National Institute of Korean History (president Cho Kwang) and the Academy of Korean Studies (president Ahn Byung-ook), both history think tanks belonging to or affiliated with the Education Ministry, on September 4. The symposium began with opening remarks by Foundation president Kim Do-hyung, followed by congratulatory and welcoming speeches by Yoo Eun-hae, deputy prime minister for social affairs and education minister; National Institute of Korean History president, Cho Kwang; and Academy of Korean Studies president, Ahn Byung-ook, with the heads of the National Archives of Korea and the Independence Hall of Korea in attendance. In her congratulatory address, Yoo said, “I will endeavor to support mutual understanding in Northeast Asia and in academic and research activities for exchange, and I will bolster the joint responses and collaborative efforts among history-related institutions.” There were four presentations in part 2 “Status of forced mobilization damages and related data” and part 3 “Compensation for damaged inflicted by compulsory mobilization.” The symposium became a forum for major history think tanks to gather in one place to delve into the problem of Japan’s forced mobilization and seek ways to cooperate while sharing related research activities. The Northeast Asian History Foundation and other history-related institutions will continue to push ahead with this research into the truth behind Japan’s compulsory mobilization by utilizing data kept in the National Archives of Korea.