Park, Myung-Lim* Hanguk vs. Joseon: History, Discourses, and Idea of the Two Korean Sovereign States’ Relations

<Abstract>

Hanguk vs. Joseon: History, Discourses, and Idea of the Two Korean Sovereign States’ Relations - Beyond the Paradigm of the Inter-Korean Relations and Unification

Park, Myung-Lim* 

* Professor of Political Science, Inter-disciplinary Department of Area Studies, Yonsei University, Seoul Korea.

This paper aims to suggest a new, and somewhat revolutionary paradigm shift of recognizing the natures and relations of the two political entities on the Korea Peninsula, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which have existed for the last 75 years respectively. 

Above all, even in their mother tongue, the two countries’ names are utterly different. Hanguk(한국/韓國) vs. Joseon(조선/朝鮮). Also, the two words of Korea in South ‘Korea’ and North ‘Korea’ are quite different, Han vs. Joseon. Needless to say, their official full names of the countries are also different. In that sense, the two Koreas are the only exceptional case among the divided countries after the end of the 2nd World War comparing with the cases of Germany, China, Vietnam and Yemen. 

All of their official words of identifying, connoting and designating Korea itself are also fundamentally different, Han vs. Joseon. : for instances, names of ethnicity, peninsula(territory), people, language, history, culture, music, art, the Korean problem, and the Korean War. How could it be possible? 

Viewing from the historical perspective, the Korean communists and radicals did not accept the moderate and nationalistic viewpoint of the early modern Korea under the Han frame of consciousness. At first, the Japanese imperialists never recognized the evolution and existence of the Han ideas and polity. They substituted them by the Joseon ones by force. Just like the Japanese imperialists, the Korean radicals also negated the Han languages of politics, rather replaced those with the Joseon discourses.   

From the colonial period, between the two groups of the moderates and the radicals in modern Korea, there have been two kinds of very different world views, and, they never joined into one political entity each other. Then, right after the end of the World War II, it has not been unnatural they established the respectively independent-divided political entities with the foreign occupation under the names of Hanguk and Joseon. 

To the Korean people, during the long history of traditional period, the ideas of sovereign state and independent people have been natural, accustomed and very strong, as a ‘historic state’ or as a (semi-) sovereign state. They have had and enjoyed the clear consciousness of sovereign polity/state(國家) and independent people, but have not had at all the words and ideas of ethnicity and race so long time. Then the pathway of the formation of modern Korean nationalism was not nation(ethnicity)-to-state, but state-to-nation.

Moreover, at the initial time of establishing the divided state, the two Koreas have tried to exclusively monopolize the legitimacy in their respective constitutions, never recognized the other half at all. The Korean War was a typical offspring of the all-out negation. However, with the lasting of division/coexistence of the two countries, and the repeated revisions of their constitutions, they mutually accepted themselves and the other half as an independent-sovereign country in reality and in the constitutions. It was a striking, but very realistic revolution. 

Especially, for the last 75 years, the records of meetings, negotiations, dialogues, and agreements between them clearly showed us that, especially with the collapse of the socialist bloc, the end of cold war period and the entry into the UN membership of the both, the two political entities unquestionably recognized each other as a sovereign, independent state. From that time, they all used officially the different Korean names of countries Hanguk vs. Joseon on the jointly agreed documents each other. 

As stated above, at initial period, they never recognized each other, and pursued unification very ardently as a divided state, a divided farther land. But in the official agreements, now they neither use at all the words of divided state nor those of divided fatherland each other. Now it is unquestionable that the two political entities recognize themselves and others as sovereign states. Recent agreements emphasized much more peace than unification.

Now, the development of nuclear weapon in Joseon also laid the conditions of impossibilities of unification. Nuclear weapon and unification are having the very antithetic relations. The highly advanced nuclear weapons of Joseon finally nullified all kinds of nationalistic, emotional approach towards the narrow frame of inter-Korean relation. 

Recently, Joseon does not want to keep the inter-Korean relations with Hanguk for solving even the issues of humanitarian fields. They unilaterally stoped the contacts and dialogues without notice. Also, they harshly criticized, cursed and excluded the Hanguk government, even the South counterpart is a moderate leadership, and strongly wants to continue the inter-Korean relations. The view of inter-Korean relations no longer works at all.

Moreover, according to the many recent polls, the younger generations and general people in South Korea(Hanguk) much preferred peace to unification. They no longer wanted national unification with North Korea(Joseon). That is to say, they regard Joseon as other independent country, not as one of same ethnicity.

  In sum, perspectives, ideas, policies, and languages of inter-Korean relation and unification must be all replaced by those of peace and sovereignty. Those of national division also must be sublimed by the ones of coexistence of sovereign states. No one should pursue the artificial engineering of national unification. Peace is first.  

Keywords: Hanguk,Joseon, Historic state, Semi-sovereign state, Inter-Korean relations, ROK-DPRK relations, Sovereignty, Independence, Nationalism, Division, Unification, Peace, Coexistence.