The Founding of the Republic of Korea Should Be Viewed Within the Continuity of Korean History

• The Korean people (韓民族) established a government after liberation using the national name ‘Republic of Korea (大韓民國)’, but before that, they used ‘Joseon (朝鮮)’ and ‘Daehan (大韓) Guk’ as their national names for centuries.
• In a broad sense, there is no need to use the term ‘National Foundation Day (建國節)’.
• This is because the Korean people have lived on the Korean Peninsula (韓半島), preserving their unique language and culture since the Gojoseon period.

The Republic of Korea (大韓民國) was established in 1945 after liberation, and due to the division of the Korean Peninsula into North and South by the American and Soviet occupations, the South Korean government declared its establishment in 1948. Since then, South Korean society has been divided into conservative and progressive factions based on ideology and thought, and both political forces have alternately governed the Republic of Korea.

Following the Park Geun-hye administration, the sharp conflict between the conservative and progressive camps regarding the timing and re-establishment of National Foundation Day (建國節) in the Republic of Korea led to extreme social division, with the issue of whether or not to include it in national textbooks.

In a narrow sense, since the establishment of the government in 1948, the national name (國號) became ‘Republic of Korea (大韓民國)’, so it would be appropriate to use the term ‘National Foundation Day’ to commemorate this time. However, the Korean people (韓民族) had clearly lived on the Korean Peninsula (韓半島) with ‘Joseon (朝鮮)’ as their national name before the establishment of the government.

Unfortunately, in the late 20th century, due to the influence of Western powers and the Japanese invasion, the nation's sovereignty (主權) was temporarily lost, but ironically, with the help of surrounding major powers, the Korean people regained their independence and established a new government, adopting ‘Republic of Korea (大韓民國)’ as their national name, gaining international recognition.

Therefore, in a broad sense, there is no need to use the term ‘National Foundation Day’. This is because the Korean people (韓民族) have lived on the Korean Peninsula (韓半島), preserving their unique language (言語) and culture (文化) since the Gojoseon (古朝鮮) period.

At this point, it is necessary to understand the definition of national foundation (建國) and which country is a typical example. We also need to understand the difference between the historical background of such a country and the historical background of the Korean people.

For a nation to be founded (建國), it needs people who constitute the nation, i.e., the ethnicity (民族) and territory (領土), and it is necessary to establish a political, economic, and social system that forms the basis of the state.

The birth of Israel is the most representative example of this. After the Roman conquest of Jerusalem (AD 70), the Jewish nation was completely destroyed and scattered throughout Europe, the Americas, and other parts of the world until the mid-20th century. In 1948, with the help of countries like Britain and the United States, they established the nation of Israel.

‘Joseon (朝鮮)’, the predecessor state of the Republic of Korea, was a dynastic (王朝) state that existed on the Korean Peninsula for 518 years, from 1392 to 1910. Joseon used ‘Goryeo (高麗)’ as its national name for about 7 months after its founding and ‘Daehan Guk (大韓國)’ for about 13 years toward the end of the dynasty. In November 1392, when the Ming Dynasty (明) demanded that the new national name be announced quickly, Yi Seong-gye and the founding forces finally gathered their ministers to discuss and decided on ‘Joseon’ as the new national name (February 1393).

King Gojong, the 26th king of Joseon, declared ‘Daehan Guk’ as the new national name in October 1897, the 34th year of his reign, and ascended the throne as Emperor. However, people preferred the name ‘Daehan Empire (大韓帝國)’ to ‘Daehan Guk’. Daehan Guk ended after 13 years in July 1910 when it was forcibly annexed by Japan. However, the name ‘Daehan (大韓)’ continued after liberation from Japan, becoming the national name ‘Republic of Korea (大韓民國)’ when the government was established in 1948. {Source: Joseon (朝鮮) - Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (aks.ac.kr)}

The Republic of Korea has now reached the top 10 in the world economically. What is important next? We are asking ourselves this question. Without our own identity (正體性) and historical consciousness (歷史意識), wouldn't there be no hope for our nation and people?

At this time, we should refrain from unnecessary conflicts between the conservative and progressive camps due to issues such as National Foundation Day and the Lee Seung-man Memorial Hall. Instead, we should listen and strive to inherit the continuous historical flow of the Korean (韓) people.

2023 8 13 durumis