(Yonhap Interview) Korea's independence movement 'lofty cry' for universal values: historian

<YANBIAN, China, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- Korea's struggle for independence from Japanese colonial rule was a lofty call for universal values, such as peace and humanitarianism, not just a nationalist movement, a South Korean historian asserts. Park Hwan, a scholar who has devoted over four decades to researching Korea's independence movement during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, said the movement's significance is often misinterpreted through a narrow domestic lens.

Park emphasized that numerous countries, including China, Russia, the United States, Mexico, and even Cuba, supported Korea's independence movement. He clarified that Korea's independence movement was not solely a struggle for Koreans, but a broader pursuit of universal human values, including justice and humanitarianism. Park warned against viewing the independence movement through a chauvinistic lens, as this could dilute its broader significance.

The independence fighters publicly expressed their aspirations for peace and universal human values, he noted, highlighting that many also collaborated with foreign advocates in China and Japan opposing Japanese imperialism. Park emphasized the visionary perspective of Ahn Jung-geun, the celebrated independence activist who assassinated a senior Japanese colonial official in China 117 years ago.

Ahn expressed his final wish as leading three cheers for "long live peace in the East," Park recounted. Before his execution by the Imperial Japanese Army at Lushun Prison in China's Lushun, Ahn had been writing "The Theory of Peace in the East," a work arguing for peaceful coexistence among Korea, China, and Japan, without resorting to invasion, and for their joint resistance against Western imperialism, according to Park.

Ahn perished before completing the book. In the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, which Park regards as a harbinger of a third world war, he stressed that the ideals and values championed by Korea's independence fighters remain pertinent today and can guide Korea and the world towards a positive future. Park urged the preservation of historic sites related to Korea's independence movement from a broader perspective, fostering international cooperation with China, reminiscent of the historical alliance between the two nations during the independence movement.

He believed that restoring trust and enhancing bilateral ties between Korea and China would provide a solid foundation for both countries to respect each other and jointly preserve historic sites associated with the independence movement. As a family historian spanning four generations, Park expressed concern over the dwindling interest in history as an academic discipline.

He lamented that demand for history has waned, particularly in the age of artificial intelligence, yet he stressed that the government should acknowledge the value of history in fostering national development. He called for nurturing future historians by creating more career opportunities and preserving history departments at universities, which are increasingly being phased out.

Park lamented that South Korea's current focus on keeping pace with changing times overlooks the broader, future-oriented perspective that history provides. He lamented the government's fostering of an environment that leaves history students with the perception that they will starve if they choose to study history.