Korean History

Invention of Early Joseon’s identity as a “Lesser Middle Kingdom(小中華)” and the comparative narrativization on “others” in Songs of Flying Dragons(龍飛御天歌)”

Chong Da-Ham

Ever since modern scholarship of the studies of Korean literature and Korean history after 1945 in Korea, the text of Songs of Flying Dragons(龍飛御天歌) has always been interpreted within the narrow nationalist frame which only highlights that the text is to show “unique” origin of Korean identity, only because those small portions of the whole texts were written in Hunmin’chŏng’ūm(訓民正音) alphabet. However, in fact, Songs of Flying Dragons not only includes the texts about Joseon royal house’s “uniquely Korean” identity, but also shows elaborate descriptions and interpretations on identities such as “Middle Kingdom(中華)”, Jurchens, and “Wako” pirates that modern Korean scholarship can hardly think of as “Korean” or “proto-Korean”. This study is to rethink those different identities of others that has been seen as alien and thus secondary in the text of Songs of Flying Dragons by korean nationalist scholarship, and to reinterpret them as the necessary “others” to which Joseon royal house mirrored itself to imagine its own identity and position as “Lesser middle Kingdom(小中華)” by compiling Songs of Flying Dragons, converging into the “universal” Confucian civilization of “Middle Kingdom” and differentiating from the savagery of “barbarians”.


󰡔龍飛御天歌󰡕에 나타난 조선왕실의 “小中華”적 정체성 창출과 타자인식: 그 ‘比較’의 서사를 중심으로

정 다 함

그간 龍飛御天歌에 대한 연구들은, 근대 국민국가의 형성이라는 역사적 맥락 속에서 진행되어 왔기 때문에, 龍飛御天歌를 민족의 “고유”한 정체성과 직결시키는 민족주의적/일국사적 관점을 견지해 왔다. 그러나 龍飛御天歌는, 그 “고유성”을 증명하는 증거로 읽힐 수 있는 내용 못지않게, 사실 그 “고유성”이라는 것이 “中華”와 “女眞族”과 “倭” 등의 이질적 정체성들과 끊임없이 관계를 맺고 있었음을 보여주는 내용으로 가득하다. 그렇다면 민족주의적/일국사적 관점 때문에 해석되기 어려웠던 龍飛御天歌의 이러한 성격을 어떻게 이해해야 할까?
결국 우리는 이 용비어천가가 지니고 있는 조선왕실의 “고유”한 정체성을 보여주는 부분과 그와는 다른 타자들의 “이질적”인 정체성을 보여주는 부분 모두를 함께 이해할 수 있어야 하며, 그러기 위해서는 용비어천가의 찬자들이 어떤 시각과 목적에서 이러한 다양한 타자들을 용비어천가에 등장시켰는가라는 새로운 화두로 이 문제에 접근해야 한다. 이 연구는, 훈민정음으로 쓰인 부분 때문에 한국적 “고유성”을 상징하는 텍스트로 조명되어 온 龍飛御天歌를, 그 텍스트가 담고 있는 조선왕실과 다양한 타자들과의 관계성이라는 역사적 맥락에 초점을 맞춰 다시 읽어봄으로써, 이를 당대 조선 지배층의 세계관 내지 역사인식 내지 타자인식의 틀이 어떻게 창출되었는가를 표상하는 텍스트로서 새롭게 해석해 보려는 시도이다.
기존의 민족주의적/일국사적 관점에 입각하여 진행된 연구지형의 담론지층들을 지식의 고고학을 통해 벗겨내고, 탈중심적/탈경계적/초지역적인 관점을 바탕으로 다시 살펴보았을 때, 용비어천가는, 그간의 민족주의적 관점이 본질화시켜왔던 그 한국적(조선적)인 고유한 정체성이라는 것이 오히려 14세기 말에서 15세기 초반 조선왕실이 동아시아의 여러 타자들과 조우하는 역사적 맥락 속에서 ‘발명된 전통’이었음을 보여주는 텍스트로, 다시 해석될 수 있다. “中華”와 女眞族과 倭寇는, 조선왕실이 이렇게 자기 정체성을 상상할 때에 이를 구체적으로 가늠하기 위해서 비추어보는 거울과 같이 반드시 필요한 타자로서 기술된 존재들이었던 것이다.
龍飛御天歌에서, 조선왕실의 정체성은, 中華의 역대 왕조들의 “보편” 문명과의 유사점을 강조하면서도 이를 위해서라도 반드시 中華와의 최소한의 차이점은 남겨두는 ‘비교’의 방식을 통해, “중화”와 같아질 수는 없더라도 이에 버금가는 상한선의 좌표에 설정되는 것이었다. 동시에 조선왕실의 그 정체성은, 中華의 “보편” 문명의 대척점에 위치한 女眞族과 倭寇와 같은 존재들과의 차이점을 강조하면서도 이를 위해서라도 반드시 이들과의 최소한의 공유지점(유교적 “보편” 가치)은 남겨두는 ‘비교’의 방식을 통해, 이들보다는 그 敎化의 정도에서 훨씬 앞서 있는 하한선의 좌표에 설정되는 것이었다. 결국 용비어천가에 담긴 조선왕실의 고유한 정체성이라는 것도, 그와는 다른 정체성들과의 역동적 관계성 안에서 존재하던 그 정체성을, 유교적/중화중심주의적인 비교와 위계질서의 서사를 통하여 재구성한 것이었다. 그리고 이 과정은 조선이 문명의 중심으로 여기고 있던 중화중심주의를 전유함으로써 스스로를 문명과 반야만의 사이에 위치하는 이른바 “小中華”로 창출해내는 과정에 다름 아니었던 것이다.

Vào những thập niên cuối thế kỷ XX, sự phát triển thành công ngoạn mục trong các lĩnh vục đời sống xã hội của các nước và vùng lãnh thổ Đông Á như Nhật Bản, Hàn Quốc, Singapore, Đài Loan, Hồng Kông, và ở chừng mực thấp hơn như Malaysia, Thái Lan, đã lôi cuốn sự chú ý của giới nghiên cứu và bình luận chính trị - xã hội. Một thực tế khó phủ nhận là, giai đoạn phát triển cao (thành công của công nghiệp hóa - hiện đại hóa đất nước), trừ Nhật Bản, đều gắn liền với một cấu trúc chính trị tập trung quyền lực cao độ trong tay một cá nhân hay một nhóm cá nhân, mà giới khoa học gọi là Chế độ độc tài. Thông thường, người ta quan niệm “Độc tài” đối lập với “Dân chủ”, đối lập với “Phản tiến bộ”, “Phản phát triển”, tức một hình thái chính trị gắn liền với phá hủy, tàn bạo và tội ác! Với cách đặt vấn đề như vậy, người viết cho rằng, từ thực tiễn Hàn Quốc, rất cần thiết nhìn nhận một cách nghiêm túc, khách quan và khoa học các căn nguyên của các chế độ độc tài như nguồn gốc, đặc trưng, vị trí lịch sử và vai trò của nó trong phát triển. Tác giả tập trung hai vần đề:
Xuất hiện chế độ độc tài ở Hàn Quốc - sự lựa chọn tất yếu mô hình quản lý xã hội tập trung quyền lực?
Chế độ độc tài Park Chung-hee với tiến trình hiện đại hóa đất nước - thành công và bi kịch.

In the 1970s, the Park Chung Hee administration (1961-79) leveraged all defense-related civilian industries to build an independent system of weapons production. In keeping with Park's advancement of military modernization driven by strong private-sector growth, an agenda that he promoted with his banner slogan “rich nation, strong military,” large Korean companies known as chaebŏl (재벌) were transformed to serve as government contractors that drove both national economic development and military modernization. A case study of one such company, Hanwha, illustrates how the state's hyper-militarization of Korean industries determined the distinct course and character of South Korea's national development. The study highlights the dynamic interplay that occurred between state actors and private-sector CEOs, managers, and laborers in shaping the chaebŏl-centered economic and defense industrialization.

The American treatment of Korean history has undergone dramatic changes, beginning with the dispatch of Protestant missionaries in the 1870’s, through the Cold War, and up to today. Over the past 130-plus years, American historians of Korea have emphasized the complex interplay and influence of nationalism, modernization, and ideology in Korean historiography. Until very recently, histories of Korea produced in the United States sought largely to frame events on the peninsula as manifestations of larger global themes and trends. Unlike Korean historians in Korea, U.S. historians of Korea have been reluctant to frame their accounts as descriptive of a unique or extra-special narrative of Korean-ness. This is understandable; but, at the same time, it is worth considering whether U.S. historians of Korea may have something to learn from their Korean counterparts today. This paper will provide an overview of the historiography of Korea in the United States, past and present, and offer suggestions for the next era of Korean historical studies. As the intent is to provide a brief “overview,” this paper will discuss a handful of English-language histories of Korea that are well-known examples of U.S. historiography at different points in time.

Pochi miti sono longevi quanto quelli in cui si combinano eros e thanatos, amore e morte, desiderio e tensione alla dissoluzione. Così, il mito degli hwarang, corpo di guerrieri adolescenti votati alla bellezza e alla morte, ha resistito alla rovina dell'antico regno coreano di Silla ed è giunto fino a noi. Ma, come spesso capita, il mito ha finito per oscurare la base storica da cui traeva origine e i giovani guerrieri dell'antichità coreana sono diventati metafore di realtà e valori che non avevano alcun legame con il mondo di cui erano parte. Solo un attento lavoro di rimozione delle stratificazioni mitologiche e l'esame serrato delle fonti sarebbe in grado di recuperare la dimensione storica degli hwarang.

Late nineteenth century was a tumultuous time in Asia. With Japan's rise as a military power and multitudinous internal rebellions; China and Korea were faced with unprecedented challenges. The Dowager Empress of China and Empress Myongsong of Korea were in the heart of these complexities and had to undertake modern reforms in deeply conservative times. This paper reassesses contemporary sources to confront the traditional narrative and perceptions about the two women who have been a victim of biases that prevail in history writing.

국문초록

‘한국사’ 상의 조선시대상 - 조선전기를 중심으로

정다함


현재의 ‘한국사’ 혹은 ‘국사’의 체계 속에서, 조선전기라는 시기는 매우 중요한 위치를 점하고 있다. 일반적으로 ‘중세’에서 ‘근대’를 향해 발전하는 도상에 있는 ‘근세’로 설정되고 있는 이 시기는 세종대를 중심으로 하여 ‘한국사’ 상에서 유래를 찾아보기 힘든 ‘발전’이 출현했던 시기로 이해되어지고 있다. 그리고 이러한 ‘발전’과 ‘변화’들은 현재까지도 서구와 일본을 통해 근대적 문물이 들어오기 이전에, 이미 근대 한국의 근대성이 발원되고 있던 고유한 기원으로 인식되어지고 있으며, 근대 국민국가인 대한민국의 원형과 같은 이미지로 이해되면서, 근대 국민국가 창출과 유지에 기여해 왔다. 그러나 사실, 이러한 시각과 이를 통해 파악되고 재현된 조선전기의 역사상은, 당대의 맥락 속에서 조선전기의 역사를 재구성한 것이 아니라, 사실 서구 혹은 일본을 통해서 들어온 근대성을 보편적 기준으로 삼아 그와 비슷한 것을 ‘한국사’ 속에 설정하려는 근대 국민국가의 시선과 기획에 따라 만들어진 것이었다. 이 논문은 해방 이후 자신의 근대성의 기원을 그 고유한 전통 속에서 찾아내려 했던 노력 속에서 만들어진 ‘한국사’ 상의 조선시대상(朝鮮時代像), 즉 비합리적인 것에서 합리적인 것으로, 귀족제적인 것에서 관료제적인 것으로, 미신적인 것에서 경험적 지식으로, 전제적인 정치에서 민본적인 정치로, 중국적인 것에서 조선적인 것으로의 ‘변화’ 혹은 ‘발전’으로 규정되어 온 이 시기의 역사상이 매우 통국가적(transnational)으로 구성된 것임을 밝히려는 시도이다. 이 시기의 역사상이 한국 근대성의 고유한 기원임을 주장해 온 ‘한국사’의 주장에도 불구하고, 사실상 이는 서구로부터 발원하여 일본을 통해 전해진 근대성을 보편적 기준으로 해서 마련된 근대 국민국가 기획의 구성물이었으며, 때문에 그러한 기획과 그 결과물 속에 ‘한국사학’이 저항의 대상으로 삼았던 제국주의의 논리와 영향이 내면화되어 있다는 점을 밝히려는 것이다. 이를 위해 ‘한국사’ 상의 조선시대상, 특히 조선전기라는 시대상이 어떤 과정을 통해 ‘중세’보다 ‘근대’에 더욱 가깝게 접근한 ‘근세’로 파악되었는가를 살펴보고, 그러한 위치에 맞는 역사상을 구성하기 위해 ‘한국사학’이 그간 강조해 온 주요한 개념과 주장들, 즉 ‘양반관료국가’, ‘중인’, 세종대 ‘과학기술 및 문화의 발전’, ‘사대’와 ‘교린’ 등을 학설사적으로 검토함으로써 ‘한국사’라는 체계가 어떠한 논리에 입각해서 어떠한 세부적인 연구영역에서 구체적인 연구성과를 축적하면서, 조선시대와 관련된 현재의 역사상과 연구지형을 만들었는가를 비판적으로 분석하여 그 ‘가까운 기원’을 드러내고 대안을 모색하려 한다.

핵심어: 국학, 한국사, 국사, 한국사학, 국사학, 조선시대, 조선전기, 조선시대상, 역사상, 근대, 근대성, 근세, 양반, 양반관료국가, 중인, 세종, 훈민정음, 한글, 과학, 기술, 사대, 교린, 내재적 발전론, 진화론적 역사관, 제국주의, 민족주의, 제국, 민족, 근대국민국가, 전통




Abstract

Imagining the Choson Period and the Construction of “ Korean History(kuksa)”

Chong, Da-ham


Up until this point, the early Chosn period has taken on a significant position in the historical framework of linear development found in the “ Korean history(Han’ guksa)” or “ National History of Korea(kuksa)” established in modern Korean historiography. In general, the Chosn period has been viewed in Korean history as a period full of unprecedented development and change, which enabled Korean historians to define this period as a early modern one that marks the evolution in Korean history from the feudal (chungse) period to the modern period(kndae). These developments and changes, which were thought to be clearly evident when using this view of history, were believed to be the unique origins of the Korean nation whose modernity had originated from even before the introduction of Western modernity that took place during Japanese colonization. This view of history enabled Korean people to imagine the early Choson Dynasty as a prototype of the modern Korean nation-state that contributed to the nation-building process of Korea. This research demythologizes the still dominant nationalist arguments about the early Chosn period found in modern Korean historiography(as outlined above)－efforts made to territorialize the modernity of the Korean nation by setting the origin of Korean modernity in the “ unique” traditions of the premodern era. Through revealing the implications of these arguments about the early Chosn period―which were thought to signify such evolution steps in Korean history as the transformations from the irrational to the rational, from aristocracy to bureaucracy, from mystical knowledge to empirical science, from despotic monarchy to people-oriented politics, and from Sinocentrism to unique Koreanness―this research argues that what modern Korean historiography has highlighted as sprouts of early Korean modernity that emerged from Korea’ s own soil, is in fact the modern invention of Korean historiography which has been modeled after the historical models found in Western and Japanese historiography.

Key Words: Korean history, Han’ guksa, Kuksa, modern Korean historiography, Korean historiography, early modern, Sejong, nationalist historiography

The socio-cultural conditioning practiced in a society has a direct impact in the perspective of the people of the society. South Korea is one of the developing countries that is rooted in a traditional and social practice that attained transformation over time. This research attempts to analyse the influence of the Neo-Confucianism ideologies which controlled the socio-cultural aspects of South Korea and its prevalence in the dynamics of gender roles in different generation. The study is attempted through South Korean writer Kyung Sook Shin’s two novels, Please Look After Mom (2011) and The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness (2015). The gender role transformation is analysed through cultural and gender studies focusing through South Korea’s traditional gender roles, changes in gender roles through modernisation and the status of women in contemporary South Korea which are reflected in the two novels. The research is limited to the study of the transformation of gender roles in relation to the changing socio-cultural practices of South Korea as a result of industrialisation and westernisation.

This paper traces a much overlooked historical  event,  whose impacts threatened to upend the status quo in the Far East and potentially escalate the Anglo-Russian rivalry in Eurasia. With the occupation of Port Hamilton (Geomundo) by a hegemon, Britain, Korea was catapulted into the centre stage of the international system, where it garnered unprecedented attention from major powers. It was also during this period that neutralisation was contemplated both within and without Korea. By exploring this incident through contemporary neutralisation discourse, this work illustrates neutralisation’s role in providing an analytical framework to assess the geopolitical importance of this incident  in  international relations. After suffering a crushing defeat in the Crimean War, Russia was forced to modify its designs in the Mediterranean and adjust itself to a new regional order. Since its room for manoeuvre was constrained by its chief rival, Britain, the Russian government was forced to tread more cautiously in European geopolitics and to refrain from military means in  advancing its interests there. Similarly, the British offensive on Geomundo thwarted Russian expansion into the Far East  and  denied Russia access to the Pacific, allowing Britain to repeat the  feat that it had achieved in the Crimean War.

An 8 page essay which looks over and analyses the close relationship that the Korean Koryŏ Dynasty had with Medieval China, especially the Song Dynasty. Examples of war alliances, religions, artworks, politics, and education are analyzed to prove the thesis.

This article takes a closer look at the internal evolution of the North Korean political system and how it has been subjugated to the personalist regime of the Kim family. The author argues that North Korea should no longer be perceived as a totalitarian regime since it is now a fully entrenched personal regime in the first place. The author investigates how this process of personalization took place in the institutional, ideological and mobilizational dimensions of the DPRK as well as the influence on its international relations (gatekeeping). Based on these insights the author provides some scenarios for endogenous transitions from this regime type and how hereditary succession and personalism affect its survival strategies..

Rather than treat Korean women's education as a monolithic subject, this article examines the first schools for females established by the aristocratic yangban beginning in 1898 that reflected an effort to formalize elite female education and provide an alternative to the Christian missionary schools. Korean-founded schools adjusted their curriculum to include new subjects such as foreign languages, history, geography, and math while also offering erudite Confucian-based subjects vis-à-vis morals education, calligraphy, and literary Sinitic. These classical subjects were too advanced for the missionary schools to offer. The combination of these subjects was appropriate for women of elite households since they would marry government officials, diplomats, and scholars (also of yangban extraction), would need to be familiar with aristocratic etiquette and mores in a changing context, and would have to raise their children for their elite station in life. This changed after 1905 as Korean sovereignty became increasingly threatened and the mobilization of the female population, regardless of social class, became an urgent matter. Thus, all Korean women were called upon to perform their patriotic duties as wise mothers and good wives to contribute to the strengthening of the country.

This study explores the features of translation and its versions of Mongmin
simsŏ: Admonitions on Governing the People, and discusses its author Tasan,
Chong Yagyong, and his political philosophy of ‘Silhak’ or ‘practical learning,’
and his influence and recognition in target cultures. The purposes of this study
are to reassessing the achievement of translation texts and their following
reactions and book reviews in the academic circles and general readers after
their publication from the perspective of Korean Studies; and to sharing the
significance of translation texts of Korean cannons and their major roles as
meta-texts and archive of Korean Studies for global readers with scholars. It’s
the reason why one cannot emphasize too much the importance of setting up
solid groundwork for Korea and Korean Studies based on its meta-text
translation for the proliferation of Korean Wave in the area of Korean
philosophy, literature and other values.

The Australia government played a diplomatic role on the Korean peninsula as a member of the UNTCOK (United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea) and UNCURK (United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea) from 1946.  The political relationship continued even through the Korean War (1950-1953). Was it the first story of Australian diplomacy in Korea? If not, when did the relationship start? While Australia was able to perform no diplomatic activity in the pre-commonwealth period, Australian civilians brought a cultural transformation to the Confucian and Buddhist society of Korea from 1889 through non-governmental organisations (NGOs). They were a minority of the foreign groups in the Hermit Kingdom, but their impact was quite significant during the Korea Empire (1897-1910) and colonial Korea (1910-1945) periods. The Australians particularly influenced the social development of Kyŏngnam province (1889-1941). This paper argues that the spirit of volunteerism motivated many Australian single women to be involved in the cultural renaissance of Korea through modern education and public health.

What do disputes over the closure of two Korean-language newspapers in 1940 demonstrate about the power of the colonial state and the policy making process of the colonial state (Government General of Korea)? Using rare archival materials, this article analyzes the complex labyrinths and elusive alliances that fueled the formation of two distinct coalitions that traversed ethnic boundaries during the crisis of 1940 (in Japanese).

In the second half of the Chosŏn period the vernacular poetic genre of the kasa, which dates back to late Koryŏ, was increasingly used to convey messages that may be considered political. Kasa together with sangso (petitions) to the king or his representatives, t’ongmun (circular letters), and kwaesŏ (wall posters) came to constitute a particular Korean form of the public sphere. Kasa sometimes functioned as alternatives to the petitions through which loyal subjects communicated their critical views of public affairs on the basis of the Confucian ideal of public opinion ( kongnon). Two kasa discussed in detail in this article, Imgyet’an from the 1730s and Kŏch’angga from the 1840s, are examples of this. Such kasa might also be used to stir up sentiments that may have led to rebellion, as seems to have happened in the 1860s with Kŏch’angga, while historical sources provide references to a number of other kasa that are no longer extant but were linked to attempts to foment rebellion. Thus, the potential impact of kasa on public opinion was clearly recognized in late Chosŏn. After Korea had opened its borders and far into the twentieth century, kasa were frequently used to express political opinions and disseminate enlightenment ideas. This should not be regarded as an innovation that was exclusively due to the advent of “modernity,” but as the modified continuation of a tradition that had been established in late Chosŏn.

A recent controversy in the USA centres on classroom use of Yoko Kawashima Watkins’s semi-autobiographical So Far from the Bamboo Grove (1986), a novel focused on the flight of Japanese settler families to Japan after the liberation of Korea at the end of World War II. Taught in a literary and historical vacuum under the thematic umbrella of ‘‘courage and survival,’’ the novel has been criticised as an example of ‘‘perpetrator as victim’’ representation. Because of its assumed high ‘‘truth value,’’ life-writing positions itself very specifically as a narrative of a ‘‘witness’’ recounting her story. The resultant authentication of suffering may thereby render issues of historicity effectively irrelevant. Diverse interpretative communities may thus read the novel in incompatible ways.

In the past few years, the South Korean film industry has released a growing number of Korean movies set in the colonial period. This essay focuses on how these films deal with the painful memory of occupation. More specifically, the analysis will be centered on two biopics with narratives that differ from what could be argued to be the mainstream portrayals of the colonial period, which tend to depict the struggle of Korean freedom-fighters under Japanese rule. Moreover, this essay reflects on the meaning of reinterpreting the past through cinema.

This paper explores the characteristics of the professional identity of the Doctors of Korean Medicine (KMD), a medical profession in South Korea practicing traditional East Asian medicine. They play a primary care role in healthcare, notwithstanding the legally limited purview of their clinical and public health roles. This mainstream position came their way through biomedicalization that occurred in the profession in the context of the country's private sector-led health system. Based on data gathered among KMDs and in state-level policymaking scenes as an insider, this paper aims to illustrate the characteristics of KMDs' identity by attending to multiple levels of their presence as modern medical profession. In doing so, it draws on works that explored medical identity, Simon Sinclair's (1997) Making Doctors: An Institutional Apprenticeship in particular, to show that despite their similarities to biomedical practitioners, KMDs exhibit discriminating characteristics in their professional consciousness.

"Snapshots from A Korean American Century." KoreAm Journal 14(5):50-54 (May 2003).
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As part of America's celebration of the centennial of organized Korean immigration to the United States, the Smithsonian Institution has produced a unique photographic exhibition, drawing on its own historic photographs as well as many public and private collections around the country.The exhibition -- co-organized by Chang-su Cho Houchins and myself (director of the Asian Cultural Program at the Smithsonian Institution), with the help of many photographic collectors -- draws partly on the historic strength of the Smithsonian's own collection, primarily for the early period of Korean and American diplomatic relations in the 1880s and 1890s. As the national museum of the United States, the Smithsonian was the repository for U.S. government missions and expeditions, and also for diplomatic gifts. Supplemented by many other photographs from public and private collections in the United States and Korea, our exhibition surveys the broader history of relations between these two countries from the late 19th century to the present.

Korean scholarship on Ming-Qing history was introduced forty years ago by Korean scholars in Ch'ing-shih wen-t'i, the former title of the journal Late Imperial China.1 Since then, Korean scholarship on Ming-Qing history has grown exponentially. Many articles and books on Ming-Qing history have recently been published in South Korea, but this essay will focus on work on Sino-Korean relations during the Ming-Qing period published in the last twenty years. In the twenty-first century, among Korean scholars of late imperial Chinese history, Sino-Korean relations has been arguably the most important and innovative area of research. The theme of Sino-Korean relations, therefore, provides a useful overview of recent and original contributions of Korean scholars to the understanding of Ming-Qing China. Korean scholars' interest in the theme stems partly from the launch of the "Northeast Project" (Dongbei gongcheng) in the People's Republic of China, a state-sponsored research project to interpret the history of Northeast China from a perspective that emphasizes Chinese claims to ancient kingdoms in the region while stressing unity among different ethnic groups. Subsequent conflicts of historical interpretation between China and Korea triggered Korean scholars' rising interest in the borders and the historical relations between the two countries. Fundamentally, the intensification of interest in this topic resonates with, and is heavily influenced by, global research trends that challenge idealistic, and even mystified perspectives of the political center, and also trends that situate historical events in

The idea that a strong state was necessary to solve the riddle of development has a long history that can be traced back to European origins. Many intellectuals believed that capitalism needed to be combined with socialism as the drive for capital accumulation moved beyond the borders of Europe. The end of World War II placed development at the forefront of the agenda of newly decolonized states. The emergence of an identity among the nations as ‘developed’ and ‘underdeveloped’ greatly shaped the framework of world politics. In this way, the concept of development ultimately became an identity that manifest itself in various developmental practices that struggled to find the optimal pathway to achieve economic growth.