Chinese Foreign Ministry Deleted “Korean History” Altogether

The Chinese government deleted whole part before the establishment of a Korean government on August 15, 1948, including the Goguryo at the Korean history section, on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s homepage (www.fmprc.gov.cn) on August 5.

China also deleted the same part in a North Korean history oulook on the webpage. In addition, it deleted part of an article on history before the Second World War completely, including old Japanese one, which seem to imply that it approved Japan’s claim of a Japanese division in Imra and stated, “Japan advanced to the southern part of the Korean peninsula in the early 5th century” in its Japanese history outlook.

An official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said, “(Due to repeated requests for deletion by the Korean government), the Chinese authorities have informed us that they will delete an item of written history regarding the period before the establishment of a government in 1948, and will perform the deletion today.”

He said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade asked for corrections of distorted versions of Goguryo history by Chinese local governments and universities’ history textbooks. We expressed our disappointment and regret to China about its deleting of the Korean history wholly, and not restoring the deleted parts of Goguryo.”

China’s response to this measure is interpreted as a suggestion to head off a diplomatic conflict by removing the superficial factors of the conflict while still ignoring Korea’s request for corrections to the distorted version of Goguryo, and the restoration of deleted parts of history on the Foreign Ministry’s homepage to its original state. Accordingly, despite this measure, it seems that it will be difficult to calm down the controversy over China’s historical distortions.

Meanwhile, the director of Asia-Pacific Bureau, Park Jun-u, left the country for Beijing to protest this matter of Goguryo’s history distortion to the Chinese government on the afternoon of August 5. Park will meet a high official of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and listen to the Chinese government’s position clearly the next day and return on August 7 after urging for the prevention of further recurrences of such incidents.

China had written, "Since the first century A.D., there were three countries formed called Silla, Baekje, and Goguryo on the Korean peninsula which all had different political power system and relationship,” in its old Korean history, but deleted the part regarding Goguryo on April 20.

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com