I think there are two answers to that. One is what dhampyresa said, that some people express their frustration with history in a really distorted way. Dissatisfied with their own history, they fantasize about an alternate history where they were never oppressed but rather the oppressors. Imperialism is fine as long as they were the ones doing it, it seems.
A second possible answer is that these people don't understand that Korea was powerful and important. They have such an unrealistic idea of what power and prestige look like (the kind of continent-spanning empire that existed maybe a handful of times in history) that they don't see how powerful Koreans have always been. Yeah, there used to be Chinese prefectures in Korea. Why are they no longer there? Because Koreans smashed them and drove them out in the fourth century. We militarily beat the foremost civilization of the day and kicked them out to take the peninsula for ourselves. How can anyone fail to see how awesome this is?
And even during its tenure Nakrang was never a simple military outpost or an all-Chinese show, unlike some of the shorter-lived prefectures such as Hyeondo to the north (which is the area where most of my story takes place). Nakrang had the full cooperation of the native Korean elite and had a decidedly mixed ruling structure. That was precisely why it had such a long and successful presence on the Korean peninsula, because it had the buy-in of Koreans and they actively participated in its rule. Nakrang was also the hub for the spread of so much Chinese civilization, from literacy to technology to bureaucracy, all of which helped Koreans develop their own states and ultimately grow strong enough to drive out the Chinese presence.
These JiPHs pretend to be patriots, but they're the ones who hate and despise Korea. They don't recognize our ancestors for the incredibly resilient and resourceful people they were, and they don't see the power we wielded all along in shaping our lands and our destiny. They'd rather turn away from our real history and faff off to some non-existent fantasy. Well fuck them, they obviously have no use for the real Korea and Korea certainly doesn't need them.
Aaaand I have spewed forth a multiparagraph rant in response to a one-sentence question. (sheepish) You can probably tell this subject has been on my mind for a while.
I hate when people with a political agenda shut down research into things that might prove their agenda is bullshit.
I'm not surprised they'd try--their motivation is baked right into your sentence--I'm just disheartened they succeeded. The scary thing is that they've had outsized influence in the media, too: Their ideas have been incorporated into quite a few popular period shows. It's past time for an effective pushback and I plan to be part of it.
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Date: 2016-03-09 03:27 am (UTC)A second possible answer is that these people don't understand that Korea was powerful and important. They have such an unrealistic idea of what power and prestige look like (the kind of continent-spanning empire that existed maybe a handful of times in history) that they don't see how powerful Koreans have always been. Yeah, there used to be Chinese prefectures in Korea. Why are they no longer there? Because Koreans smashed them and drove them out in the fourth century. We militarily beat the foremost civilization of the day and kicked them out to take the peninsula for ourselves. How can anyone fail to see how awesome this is?
And even during its tenure Nakrang was never a simple military outpost or an all-Chinese show, unlike some of the shorter-lived prefectures such as Hyeondo to the north (which is the area where most of my story takes place). Nakrang had the full cooperation of the native Korean elite and had a decidedly mixed ruling structure. That was precisely why it had such a long and successful presence on the Korean peninsula, because it had the buy-in of Koreans and they actively participated in its rule. Nakrang was also the hub for the spread of so much Chinese civilization, from literacy to technology to bureaucracy, all of which helped Koreans develop their own states and ultimately grow strong enough to drive out the Chinese presence.
These JiPHs pretend to be patriots, but they're the ones who hate and despise Korea. They don't recognize our ancestors for the incredibly resilient and resourceful people they were, and they don't see the power we wielded all along in shaping our lands and our destiny. They'd rather turn away from our real history and faff off to some non-existent fantasy. Well fuck them, they obviously have no use for the real Korea and Korea certainly doesn't need them.
Aaaand I have spewed forth a multiparagraph rant in response to a one-sentence question. (sheepish) You can probably tell this subject has been on my mind for a while.
I'm not surprised they'd try--their motivation is baked right into your sentence--I'm just disheartened they succeeded. The scary thing is that they've had outsized influence in the media, too: Their ideas have been incorporated into quite a few popular period shows. It's past time for an effective pushback and I plan to be part of it.