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Publications Was Korea Ever a Part of China?: A Historical Review Jong-Hak KIM Upload Date 2021-02-09 Hits 131012
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I.  Introduction 
Ⅱ. Reality of the Tributary System
Ⅲ. Appropriation of 屬國’s Meaning
IV.  Another Historical Dispute? 



I.  Introduction 

In April 2017, after holding a summit meeting with the Chinese president Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with Wall Street Journal that Korea “actually used to be a part of China.”The comment was evidently based on Xi JInping’s account of the historical relationship between Korea and China. It was a great shock to Koreans, because the comment, irrespective of its veracity, revealed how the leaders of U.S. and China viewed the relationship between Korea and China. The Korean foreign minister was compelled to promptly issue a statement saying “It is a fact recognized by the international community that Korea was not a part of China during the thousands of years of historical relations between the two.” 

Had Korea, in fact, historically been a part of China? Several historical facts have been regarded as evidence supporting this age-old myth. For instance, after the Chinese Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty conquered the ancient Korean kingdom of Wiman Joseon in B.C.103, he installed Four Commanderies including the Lelang Commandery in Korea. These Han Commanderies remained in place for approximately 400 years until A.D.313. Other facts include the military occupation by the Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368) which lasted over a century from the mid-13th century, the invasion by the Qing Dynasty(1644-1910) in the 17th century and the subsequent suzerain-vassal style rituals imposed on Korea. The dispatch of reinforcement troops by the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644) during Japan’s massive invasion of Korea(1592-1598) - albeit motivated by its own security interest - or even the Chinese military’s entry into the Korean War(1950-1953) are frequently cited as historical examples of China's commitment to Korea and/or the inseparable, essential ties between the two countries. 


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