China Refuses to Correct Historical Claims of Koguryo
China Refuses to Correct Historical Claims of Koguryo
The historical sovereignty of an ancient kingdom is at the heart of a brewing controversy between South Korea and China.
In recent months, Beijing has taken a series of moves to claim that the kingdom, Koguryo, was a subject state of ancient China, angering many South Koreans.
The dispute took a new turn on Friday after China rejected Seoul's request that it set the facts straight.
South Korea and China appear far from resolution in the ongoing dispute over the historical sovereignty of Goguryeo. In the latest appeal to the Chinese government, Seoul on Friday dispatched a high-ranking government official to Beijing to express its regret over what it believes is a historical distortion.
In a meeting with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Director-General of the Korean Foreign Ministry's Asia-Pacific Affairs Bureau was quoted as saying the Koguryo kingdom is an inseparable part of Korean history and that China should stop distorting the "indisputable" fact. The South Korean official, Park Joon-woo also told his Chinese counterpart that Koreans cannot give up the roots of their history.
In its prime Koguryo reigned from northern Korea to the northeastern part of modern-day China from 37 B.C. to 668 A.D. The kingdom has always remained a proud legacy of Korean history.
And, in fact, the name 'Korea' originates from Goguryeo. During the lengthy discussion which lasted nearly nine hours, Park urged Beijing to restore its Foreign Ministry website. Last week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry deleted the history section of Koguryo, prompting a sharp protest from South Korea.
Then, this week, instead of bringing it back on as requested by Seoul Beijing took down the entire section of Korea's history leaving only the introduction about modern-day Korea post 1948. China explained that its move was based on careful review and that they have no control over many of their textbooks, which treat the controversial kingdom as a Chinese state.
Chinese officials also urged the Korean government to restrain journalists from turning the Koguryo dispute into a sensational issue.
Foreign Affairs Minister Ban Ki-moon presided over an executive staff meeting on Saturday morning to discuss the results of the previous day's meeting between the Ministry's Director-General Park Joon-woo and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The participants reportedly agreed that it would not be necessary for Seoul to take further diplomatic iniatives to resolve the issue at least for the moment.
A ministry official said Seoul does not need to immediately devise a response to Beijing's latest moves. For now, Seoul officials say they will keep an eye on Beijing's future actions and observe whether there are any changes in China's stance on the controversy while consider consulting with North Korea on the issue.
summary
August 8, South Korea dispatched a high-ranking government to Beijing to express its regret over what it believes is historical distortion on this friday. Korean side was quoted as saying the Koguryo kingdom is an inseparable part of Korean history and that China should stop distorting the "indisputable" fact.
Then, this week, instead of bringing it back on as requested by Seoul in the Chinese Foreign Ministry`s hompage, Beijing took down the entire section of Korea's history leaving only the introduction about modern-day Korea post 1948.
Seoul officials say they will keep an eye on Beijing's future actions.
Aug.8.2004 Digital Chosun