SEOUL, May 15 (Yonhap) — A South Korean civic organization said Tuesday it has found that many renowned world dictionaries and history education websites wrongly mark Korea’s ancient Goguryeo Kingdom as part of the territory of China’s Han Dynasty on their world maps.

Goguryeo was the ancestral kingdom (37 B.C.-668 A.D.) that occupied half of the Korean Peninsula and part of northeastern China, but in recent years, China has suddenly claimed the kingdom as part of its ancestry under what it calls the “Northeast Asia Project.” Han lasted from 206 B.C.-220 A.D.

“We’ve found 16 famous websites include Goguryeo within Han’s territory in their atlases,” said Park Ki-tae, head of the Seoul-based Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK), which internationally promotes Korea and its history online.

Such websites include Britannica, Wikipedia, TimeMaps, Nations Online, Crossing the Ocean Sea, Groiler Online and Emperor Heaven, he said.

“The incorrect marks have something to do with China’s Northeast Asia Project. People around the world will recognize Goguryeo as China’s history in the end if the maps are left unattended,” he said.

Inmyeonjo (Human-faced bird)

Inmyeonjo is a human-faced bird that appears in tomb paintings from Korea

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180209000978

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea claims that they have found an ancient royal tomb deep underground in a recluse state. The regime released a rare, English-language statement announcing that local archaeologists discovered the royal burial site of the Goguryeo Dynasty (918-1392) in its border city of Kaesong.

The Discovery of the Royal Burial Site
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the mausoleum of Suk Jong (1054 – 1105 AD), the fifteenth king of Goguryeo (Goryeo), a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, was unearthed recently in Sonjok-ri of Kaesong, the ancient capital of the dynasty as Yonhap News reports. The English-language statement mentioned:

“A research group of the Korean National Heritage Preservation Agency, together with researchers of the Global Environmental Information Institute of the State Academy of Sciences, analyzed the space distribution features about the places in which mausoleums of the kings of Goguryeo might exist and succeeded in finding out the exact location of Suk Jong’s mausoleum. In union with researchers of the National Heritage Preservation Office in Kaesong City and Goguryeo Museum, they conducted excavation in Sonjok-ri for over 20 days from last May to June to find out his mausoleum.”

Suk Jong was the third child of Mun Jong and reigned for a decade from 1096 to 1105. He oversaw various internal innovations, including the distribution of the country’s first brass coins (in 1102) and the construction of the new Southern Capital.

The Ancient Complex of Goguryeo Tombs in North Korea
Despite the strict regime in the country, this is not the first time a discovery of significant archaeological value has taken place there. As previously reported in another Ancient Origins article, the Complex of Goguryeo Tombs, also known as Koguryo tombs, is an impressive ancient site, which became the first UNESCO World Heritage Site to be listed in North Korea when it was inscribed in July 2004. The complex consists of several group and individual tombs, dating to the later period of the Goguryeo Kingdom, and are the most well-known cultural heritage remains of the Kingdom. Many of the Goguryeo tombs contain beautiful wall paintings, which offer us a glimpse into the lives of the people living in the ancient Goguryeo Kingdom.

The Goguryeo Kingdom was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and existed between the 3rd century BC and the 7th century AD. At its height of power in the 5th century AD, its territory included northeast China and the northern half of the Korean peninsula. The Goguryeo Tombs are located in the cities of Pyongyang and Nampho.

The tombs are built of stone and covered by earthen mounds or more stone. Many of the Goguryeo tombs in the World Heritage Site contain beautiful wall paintings, most of which are produced with Chinese ink and pigments painted onto the plastered interior walls of the burial chambers. The paintings cover a wide range of subjects, which include portraits of the tomb owner, activities of everyday life, mythical beings and supernatural creatures, as well as decorative designs, such as the lotus flower. Thus, these images allow some understanding of this people’s daily life, aesthetic appreciation, and even religious beliefs.
The portraits of the tomb owners bring to life the faces of many of the ancient inhabitants of the Goguryeo Kingdom. For instance, in the Anak Tomb No. 3, there is a portrait of its owner, Dong Shou, who was the last ruler of the Daifang Commandery of Han China. In the painting, Dong Shou is depicted as wearing Chinese costume and sitting upon a throne of state under a canopy, where he attends to the reports of his subordinate officials. Despite the presence of Dong Shou’s name, biography, and dates, there are alternative theories regarding the actual owner of the tomb, which are still being argued even today.

Not Many Details Revealed for the Newest Discovery
As it was expected, the strict regime of North Korea hasn’t revealed very few details about the new find. The KCNA, however, revealed that the size of the mausoleum, located in the middle of what could be described as a low slope area on a mountain, is about 29 meters long north-south by 13 meters wide west-east, as Yonhap News reports, pointing out that the tomb has three sections, which are divided by four west-east embankments. “The Archaeology Society of DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) ascertained that the heritage was the mausoleum of Suk Jong. It is of great significance in making clear the developed culture of Goryeo,” the KCNA stated.

Origin: http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/north-korean-regime-reveals-discovery-ancient-royal-tomb-rare-international-021572

While working as a Washington correspondent, there have been a number of awkward situations. One of them was when I read a piece by an American scholar at Sasakawa Peace Foundation in 2015. The author wrote, “The least bad policy option for Japan to pursue is maintenance of the status quo while endeavoring to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs as best it can. A divided Korea breaks the Korean dagger aimed at the heart of Japan.”

The report also states, “Japan prizes stability on the Korean Peninsula and fears the possibility of a potentially hostile, possibly nuclear-armed, united country across the sea.”

A nuclear-armed united Korea hostile to Japan is beyond the boundary of imagination. Why would a unified Korea have nuclear weapons? Will the international community condone a unified Korea to possess nuclear weapons? Why does he call a unified Korea a “dagger aimed at the heart of Japan?” When I met with a U.S. state department official last year and mentioned the “dagger,” he nonchalantly said Japan often makes similar arguments.

In retrospect, the main military of all Korean dynasties in Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula was deployed towards the north, not the south. Goguryeo (37 BC — AD 668) and China had constant wars, and Unified Silla (668-935) focused its military strength on the war against Tang after the Maechoseong Battle. Goryeo (918-1392) also fought with the Liao Dynasty. In Korean history, the south has always been free of conflict.

In Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula, Korean ancestors had to constantly fight wars against China’s dynasties and other tribes. In the meantime, Japan, an island nation, remained a safe zone. China’s Sui, Tang, Liao, Yuan and Qing dynasties fought countless battles against Korea in Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula, but all wars ended at the peninsula.

The damages China sustained were such that it could not afford to push down to Japan.

In the end, the Korean Peninsula was the seawall that prevented Chinese forces from moving southward to Japan. Japan is the one that tried to expand through the Korean Peninsula with invasions and forced annexation.

Perceiving Korea as a potential threat that could joins force with the continent is an extension of the absurd idea that Korea is a part of China. As long as Japan adheres to its strange theory of considering Korea a threat, Japan can never be a great power. History tells us otherwise. Anyone can see the truth by looking at Korean history.

JoongAng Ilbo, July 11, Page 30

*The author is a Washington correspondent of the JoongAng Ilbo.

CHAE BYUNG-GUN