Shanah Goddard Media Communication in Korea Short Response 2 Korean nationalism: Korea’s relationship with China and Japan Nationalism is a growing trend throughout the world, including East Asia. This growing sentiment can be seen in media and celebrity culture. One way that nationalism is apparent in media is through historical dramas. History is never unbiased because it is being viewed through the lens of whichever societal or personal values a person has. However, is goes beyond the obvious biases when nationalism, conflict, and artistic liberties become involved as well. All of these factors came together in the dispute over the Goguryeo kingdom between China and Korea. Both sides claimed the kingdom as their heritage and implemented it as a key part of their culture’s historical story. Both took historical liberties, in order to fill in the story they wanted to portray. For China, the Goguryeo kingdom helped with the story of multiculturalism’s importance in the building of their country and lessened the footprint of Han Dynasty imperialistic brutality. For Korea, the Goguryeo kingdom helped create a clear timeline of Korean power and an underdog-type story. This conflict eventually became so controversial that diplomats had to agree to stop “waging history wars” to avoid damaging economic ties between the countries. However, the disagreement did not end there, it just changed medium. In the early 2000s both China and South Korea produced long-lasting and widely popular dramas that touched on this controversy. For China the drama was called The Great Han Emperor Wu and for Korea the drama was called Jumong. China’s drama focused more on supporting the ideology behind its claim to Goguryeo, the Northeast project. This is a research project paid for by the Chinese government that claims to have found evidence that the Gogruyeo kingdom consisted of an ethno-minority that was later absorbed into moder-day China. This supports their claim that all minorities in China had a part in the development of modern-day China and were not forced to assimilate into the Han majority. South Korea’s drama, Jumong, directly addressed the controversy of the Gogruyeo kingdom as its main character is dealing with the fall of said kingdom and the Han dynasty’s control in the aftermath. This interpretation creates the story that the kingdom was solely Korean and fell victim to China to create “...a modern national foundation myth on the basis of ancient history that is itself shrouded in mythology”. This story is used to create a direct line to other kingdoms in Korea that solidify a clear national heritage. However, this clear line is far too over simplified due to lack of historical record, so it is mainly favored due to nationalism. In China there are more records, but they are bend in this case to create the story that modern politics requires. Both countries are bending historical facts and gaps in order to fulfill nationalistic needs for their people. Another example of nationalism in Korea is their reaction to old Japanese imperial symbolism. Korea still has huge issues with Japan due to its brutality throughout history but especially since Japan’s annexation and brutal rule in the early 20th century. For that reason, many Koreans see any reference to that era of Japan’s flag, the rising sun flag, to be extremely disrespectful, in a similar way that the Nazi flag is seen in many parts of the world. Celebrities have to be extremely cautious to make sure they don’t wear anything that resembles the rising sun flag because of the Korean public’s sensitivity to the imagery. This reaction is somewhat due to nationalism and feeling pride for Korea, but it is an extremely understandable reaction when the atrocities that Japan committed are considered. The negative thoughts are not directed at all foreign flags, or even all of Japan, they are directed at the specific symbol that way used during a time that was traumatizing to Korea as a whole, and many of Japan’s actions have yet to be acknowledged by its government. Nationalism also tends to have a negative connotation as it is often paired with fascism. However, in Korea’s case, I think nationalism is important in its rebuilding of national identity. Korea has had such a long history of foreign influence and lack of autonomy that they have had to develop a strong sense of national pride in order to preserve and teach their country’s traditions. However, when this form of nationalism becomes too overbearing, it can force hegemony and oppression within the country. For example, showing national pride is often an expectation for celebrities among many countries but in Korea it has developed to such an extent that celebrities can often face backlash for not appearing patriotic enough. The growing trend of nationalism in East Asia is troubling due to its tendencies to lead to backlash on celebrities and historical manipulation, but this discussion also makes me wonder if Korea perhaps has a need for their developed nationalism. For a long time, Korea tried to foster its national identity but was oppressed by foreign powers who tried to eradicate their culture and assimilate their people. For that reason, I understand why Koreans would feel the need to cultivate a clear Korean civilization timeline and to criticize celebrities for being ignorant about a flag that represents such a tragic period in Korean history. In my mind nationalism has a negative connotation, and it definitely still has its flaws, but could it also be an important aspect of every culture’s survival?
