The True History of Korea (2): The Political History of Joseon

Most Korean history books written by mainstream Korean historians - including A New History of Korea published by Harvard University Press - have led the readers to face or accept an erroneous or wrong interpretation of Korean history. For instance, when Queen Min of Joseon was assassinated in 1895, the Japanese hit squad killed the queen by recruiting substantial help from Great Prince Heungseon and a group of pro-Japanese Joseon officials. And yet, mainstream Korean historians place all the blame for the assassination only on the Japanese. It is an undeniable fact that a group of Japanese radicals hatched and carried out the assassination plot. But there remains a question as to whether the Japanese were the only ones to be blamed. Focusing on one single fact that the Japanese death squad assassinated the queen, Korean historians ignore the other historical fact that the queen’s political foes as a whole actively participated in the assassination plot. More importantly, according to the Annals of King Gojong, some pro-Japanese Joseon officials turned out to be assassins. In November 1895, the Ministry of Justice arrested Bak Seon, Yi Juhoe, and Yun Seoku and indicted them on charges of treason against the queen. Bak Seon was convicted of killing the queen; Yi Juhoe, of being an accomplice to the killing; and Yun Seoku, of burying the queen’s scorched body. And the three traitors were identified as members of the Japanese hit squad. Bak, among them, turned out to be the main culprit who stabbed the queen to death and burned her body. And the pro-Japanese cabinet immediately carried out the execution of the three convicts by hanging, allegedly to close the case as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the question as to who should be responsible for the assassination has never been fully explored largely due to mainstream Korean historians’ sustained efforts to hide or obscure all the relevant historical facts. Just like the assassination of Queen Min of Joseon, many other historical events and incidents are still misrepresented or misinterpreted by mainstream Korean historians. Intentionally or not, they have obscured, distorted, ignored, or even hid unpalatable or unpleasant historical facts under the pretext of promoting national integration and reconciliation as one single ethnic nation or on the patriotic slogan of salvaging national pride as the so-called “Great Koreans.” History has never been written perfectly in terms of objectivity or impartiality. Even so, historical events and incidents should not be interpreted arbitrarily. If any historian interpreted them subjectively in his book to serve his academic or political purpose by obscuring, distorting, or hiding unpalatable historical truths, his book would be a storybook, not a history book. To help readers fully understand the true history of Korea, we have put reasonably objective interpretations on major historical events and incidents totally based on historical facts and evidence. We have also interpreted them from the perspective of conflict and division among the Korean ruling elite, which mainstream Korean historians have never brought to their works or books. In this respect, this is the first book on the true Korean history, specifically on the true Korean political history, ever published. Read more