Korean Job Discussion Forums

[stevieg4ever]

or is this just a myth?

[mistermasan]

technically, history begins with writing. before a place has writing it has no history. it has prehistory. has there been writing on the korean peninsula for 5,000 years? good question. the jiahu script of china now dates back to 6600 BC. so...korean history could very well go back to 3000 BC taking into account time for diffusion.

[jigab]

I believe 5000 years is a stretch, probably having more to do with nationalism then actual truth. Reliable Korean history dates back around between 2000-3000 years according to my professor back at university.

[stevieg4ever]

This is what wikipedia seems to suggest saying that the earliest piece of Korean known pottery was discovered around 8000bc. But it also goes on to say that there is known documented evidence for pre-historic history in Korea which is strange. It all seems very confusing and convuluted to me.

[mistermasan]

good point. "nationalism, universities and truth" would be a great book to read as how nations primarily create truth thru their (state sponsored) universities.

as to the OPs question- "history" has multiple meanings. does "korea" refer to a political entity, a geographic location, the han ethnicity, something else all together or a combination of the aforementioned candidates?

it would come as no surprise that humans have been around (what is now) Busan since 3000 BC. nice weather, probably used to be beautiful and teeming with good stuff to eat.

so, depending on the definition of "history" and "korea" i'd say definately maybe.

[mistermasan]

www.koreaaward.com/korea/history.htm

says people here for hundreds of thousands of years, but records of the oldest kingdom go back to circa 2500 BC.

the truth lies between.

[kiwiduncan]

There is considerable evidence that humans inhabited the Korean peninsula as long ago as 500,000 years.

www.kois.go.kr/korea/kor_loca.asp?code=A0301

But the claim to 5000 years of history as one single united nation is a load of bollocks, and is only based on one ancient myth about Korea's founding figure, a guy called Tang-geun, who was born after a tiger and a bear made sweet sweet love in a cave.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Korea's history as a single, unified nation only goes back about 1300 years, to the founding of the 'Unified Shilla' kingdom. Before that Korea was divided into various different states who might have spoken a similar language but more often as not looked upon each other as enemies and rivals rather than as blood brothers or fellow Koreans.

I am sure the vast majority of Koreans are aware that the Korean peninsula's history is much longer, more complex and more interesting than the "5000 years of history" shite that they constantly spout off about. I don't see why they insist on propogating this irritating 5000 year myth. Perhaps so naive westerners will look at their gracious Korean informants and say

"wow, 5000 years! what a truly great and powerful nation you are! The immense historic grandeur of Korea makes the Roman and British Empires pale in comparison. I'm completely ashamed of my puny homeland now and realise that all I can do here is bow down before you, teach your kids ABC and look forward to contributing, in my own humble way, to another 5000 years of the Great Han Empire. From now everything I hear from you will be taken as absolute truth, and you will be treated with the greatest reverence and adulation. Wow. 5000 years eh? Geez, next you'll tell me you have 4 distinct seasons."

[mistermasan]

awhile back there was a japanese archaeologist who found all kind of great stuff in japan that really pushed the recorded history of japan back a long way. just one problem. he got busted placing artifacts.

how long has this history inflation been going on? a long time. will it end? maybe never. but it has a shadow effect. if your nation has a shorter history than your rivaling neighbor the next step is that you were once a servant/vassel state to the "older brother". can't have that.

like i said, 'history" is a propaganda tool of the state. the state couches the findings of state sponsored academia. academia releases the findings to the media and viola! a fact right there in the newspaper.

people have been on the korean penisula for a long time. i look forward to seeing the results of further research.

[endofthewor1d]

i referred to korea being 5000 years old a few days ago, just to make a point about something else, and one of my middle school kids corrected me, saying that korea didn't exist until the three kingdoms (whose names i forget, but most of you probably know what i'm talking about) united.
i was surprised to hear such a correction coming from a korean kid, chopping a few thousand years off of 'uri nara's' glorious history.

[Young FRANKenstein]