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HISTORY NERD RAGE!!!11one!
I learned yesterday that evidently a bunch of jingoistic pseudo-historians (let's call them JiPHs for short) who claim to be "patriots" helped put a halt to the Early Korea Project, a joint publication project by Harvard University and (actual) historians of ancient Korea. The JiPHs' complaint? That the project put the site of one of the major Chinese colonies, Nakrang, in the Korean peninsula, as opposed to the Chinese continent where the JiPHs insist Nakrang was located.
Different theories on the location of Nakrang: Most South Korean scholars (green), North Korean scholars (blue), so-called "irregular" scholars, i.e. JiPHs (red)
The JiPHs' argument, as always, is total baloney. The historical and most crucially the archeological evidence points to Nakrang being on the peninsula, around what is now Pyeongyang, North Korea. (Green area of map above) The JiPHs, however, insist that Nakrang was in modern China to the west of the Liao River (Red area of map) because Reasons because Korea wasn't centered on the Korean peninsula we were a continental power dammit and the Chinese could never have had a presence on the Korean peninsula and it's colonialist to say otherwise and wahhhhh why are their dicks so small.
That's their entire thing, that ancient Korea has to have been a continental power, no, a continent-spanning empire in order for our history to have any worth, the evidence must only be interpreted to support this conclusion, and any scholarship that says otherwise is imperialist treason to the Korean people and ughhhh I feel slimy just typing this wanky nonsense.
Like mainstream historical scholars tend to, I've regarded the JiPHs with amused tolerance because I assumed they were harmless though annoying cranks. But now, realizing they can get valuable, serious research shut down with their pseudoacademic crap and get members of the national legislature on their side, I realize they are a serious threat and need a stompdown.
This gives me more incentive than ever to finish and publish my novel which places Nakrang, obviously, squarely in the Korean peninsula where it belongs. I want with all my heart for this novel to gain enough influence that the idea of Nakrang in Pyeongyang becomes popularized and the JiPHs can only scream and cry while their "theory" goes down the toilet where it belongs. That's not the only JiPH sacred cow I'm slaughtering, so may their cryfest be bitter and long.
And sure, if that happens they'll start their usual campaigns of smears and harassment, tactics that people with actual proof and logic on their side don't have to resort to. And you know what? Bring it. I am so ready for these liars and cowards. They have gone too far and this means war.
Different theories on the location of Nakrang: Most South Korean scholars (green), North Korean scholars (blue), so-called "irregular" scholars, i.e. JiPHs (red)
The JiPHs' argument, as always, is total baloney. The historical and most crucially the archeological evidence points to Nakrang being on the peninsula, around what is now Pyeongyang, North Korea. (Green area of map above) The JiPHs, however, insist that Nakrang was in modern China to the west of the Liao River (Red area of map) because Reasons because Korea wasn't centered on the Korean peninsula we were a continental power dammit and the Chinese could never have had a presence on the Korean peninsula and it's colonialist to say otherwise and wahhhhh why are their dicks so small.
That's their entire thing, that ancient Korea has to have been a continental power, no, a continent-spanning empire in order for our history to have any worth, the evidence must only be interpreted to support this conclusion, and any scholarship that says otherwise is imperialist treason to the Korean people and ughhhh I feel slimy just typing this wanky nonsense.
Like mainstream historical scholars tend to, I've regarded the JiPHs with amused tolerance because I assumed they were harmless though annoying cranks. But now, realizing they can get valuable, serious research shut down with their pseudoacademic crap and get members of the national legislature on their side, I realize they are a serious threat and need a stompdown.
This gives me more incentive than ever to finish and publish my novel which places Nakrang, obviously, squarely in the Korean peninsula where it belongs. I want with all my heart for this novel to gain enough influence that the idea of Nakrang in Pyeongyang becomes popularized and the JiPHs can only scream and cry while their "theory" goes down the toilet where it belongs. That's not the only JiPH sacred cow I'm slaughtering, so may their cryfest be bitter and long.
And sure, if that happens they'll start their usual campaigns of smears and harassment, tactics that people with actual proof and logic on their side don't have to resort to. And you know what? Bring it. I am so ready for these liars and cowards. They have gone too far and this means war.
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I hate when people with a political agenda shut down research into things that might prove their agenda is bullshit.
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Easy for someone from the US to say.
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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.