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역사왜곡 (For Foreigners)

This is very unfortunate. Important proof regarding this question was provided by Pro-
fessor Seong Samjae of Kyemyeong University:

The Japanese have said: We have fabricated history to facili-
tate colonial rule, but we thought history would be restored

when Korea was liberated. It was not. Colonial history was still
there in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. So before you start blaming us,
take a good look at yourselves.
(Testimony at the International Conference on Daehan His-

Our Own Distortions of History tory)

As such, Korean history has been thoroughly distorted and ruined by Japan's histori-
and How They Affect 번역 김성남 박사 cal intrusion. The correct history of Korea has not returned to its original state even after

liberation from Japanese colonization. On the contrary, the new reality is that they are
reinforcing the distortion of Korean history by contributing to it within the framework
and system they created.
Ultimately, the history of Korea that the majority of Koreans know and the rest of the
Why is Korean history so full of distortions?

How did Korean history end up like this? world is learning is a history that was created by colonial collaborators who worked for
Finding answers through thorough self-reflection the Japanese during the Japanese occupation of Korea, in organs such as the colonial gov-
ernment’s “Chosen History Compilation Committee” (조선사편수회).
In doing so, Korean history has been seriously distorted and turned into half-truth.

Korean History That Has Yet to Be Restored Koreans Themselves are the Main Culprits
During the 35 years of Japanese colonization in Korea, people who lived their lives as of Historical Distortion
collaborators had Japanese scholars as their teachers, from whom they studied and re- Beginning in 1910, the colonial government collected hundreds of thousands of books,
searched history. then proceeded to burn and destroy them in an effort to erase ancient Korean history.

They became experts, and these collaborators dominated Korean historiography even Starting in 1922, about 100 years ago, and continuing for 16 years until 1938, the colo-
after the liberation of Korea in 1945. In short, academic history, like other fields, was not nial government published the 35-volume, 24,000-page Japanese-language Chosen-shi,
properly purged of collaborationist elements after liberation. Once a country stops being through the aforementioned Chosen History Compilation Committee.
a colony, we have to invest great efforts to escape the colonial mindset that was created. The distortion of Korean history is inevitable, when publication of Korean history is
We have to follow a different track, not the one the colonialists laid. This is what must be based on Chosen-shi of the colonial government, which was created to facilitate Japanese
done to find the truth about Korean history. But the scholars in the mainstream of our imperialism and colonial management. This is because it has never been the purpose of
academia have failed to do so. They simply refuse to deviate from tracks that the Japanese the Chosen-shi to present Korean history correctly. There are two people who used their
academia laid down. experience as editors of Chosen-shi to dominate the historical academia and promoted

Chosen-shi views to the status of a paradigm. They are Lee Byung-do and Shin Seok-ho.

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