New history of Korea

책 소개

Translator's Preface The authority of history, the self-acclaimed center of liberal arts, has begun to be diminished. Despite its growth during the majority of 19th century, the rise of postmodernism since the 1980s has left the study of modern history without direction or confidence. Widespread among historians is skepticism over the present prevailing ideology and hegemony of power, and the ways its manifestation hinders independent and objective discipline. The trend that perceives historical records to be the same as fictions and fables poses a grave threat to the overall identity of the study of history. The so-called "History War" surrounding facts from the past in East Asia continues independently from such an academic dispute. Korea is deeply involved in this war, especially due to the distortion of its history in Japanese textbooks and that of its ancient history by China. The war is without gunfire but laced with harsh words for which a truce or armistice is not an option; it is a war of no one else but only the primary parties. It is expected that the history of Korea be interpreted differently by China or Japan from the way it is interpreted within, and that the former is incorrect to the eyes of the latter. Should the differences in point of views be corrected? Can history have varying versions that may contradict one another without becoming a fiction? Does history belong to anybody? These are questions to which one cannot offer a universal answer. According to the postmodern view of history, "Historical Discourse" is nothing but a literary structure produced by historians leaving the aforementioned questions insignificant. The effort to find truth from the past nevertheless continues. New History of Korea takes a stand that abides by yet contradicts mainstream beliefs in the discipline of history in Korea. For example, the books interpretation of the nations ancient history prior to the Three Kingdoms period is of a nature unacceptable by local academia. The book is translated despite such a fact to provide the readers with the full scope of information that is presented differently by various groups. A great shortage in textbooks on Korean history written in foreign languages is partially responsible for translation of this book, too. There are only a handful of textbooks on Korean history translated in English. Foreigners use these textbooks not by choice, but because there is no alternative. Translating New History of Korea is an effort to offer foreigners interested in study of Korean history wider perspectives. I anticipate the translation of more textbooks and other materials within the discipline to facilitate foreign scholarship of Korean history. The translation did not come easy. First of all, I would like to thank Moon Soo-yeol and Jeong Sun-ju for participation in the project as draft translators. Lack of standardized English expressions for much of the terminology in Korean history and the overwhelming amount of material included in the book left them greatly burdened, yet they attended to the project in a thorough and sincere manner. My gratitude is extended to Dr. Lee Suk-gyeong for her tremendous help in the translation of some unusual history terminology into English. I would also like to express my appreciation to Wang Wei-ring of Darian University of Foreign Languages for her assistance in the Romanization of Chinese names of places and persons, and to Kim Joo-hee for her efforts and time in editing the book. This translation of New History of Korea does not represent the official view of the Academy of Korean Studies on the nations past. I, as a translator, would like to claim responsibility for any errors that may be found in the book for I am not a historian by profession. A number of foreign scholars of Korean studies were consulted for one year about the book. Unprecedented perspectives presented by the book stirred up negative opinions towards publishing the book; yet such opinions were…

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