남북한 역사학계 교류의 과거ㆍ현재ㆍ미래

Academic Interchange between South and North Korean Historians - Past, Present and Future

Both South and North Korean historians agree that ‘history’ is a science on origin and development of human society. But, Both sides have different research purposes, orientations and learning purposes. These facts originated from different growth and development of historical research in two Koreas after division of Korean peninsula. Just after Korean liberation, there were quite few historical researchers who were ideologically divided into two groups in accordance with Korean national division. And their separation have been deepened and completed by Korean War and political conflicts between two Koreas after the war. In South Korea, historians organized Chindan Historical Society, Association for Korean Historical Studies, Organization of Korean Historians. Based on those academic societies, they studied with various methods like debates on Korean modernity, cultural history and historical materialism, and produced a lot of research results. Most of all, they mainly focused on nation and democracy, and criticized colonialist history including stagnation and heteronomy of Korean history. That is to say, South Korean historians reconstructed Korean history as subjective and progressive history through criticism of colonialist history. In North Korea, historians endeavored to study Chuseok Kim Il-sung and Kim Jung-il’s “revolutionary history” and “revolutionary tradition” of the ruling party. Based on historical view of rules of historical development, they focused on systematization of national history, which was distorted by stagnation, and heteronomy of Korean history. A lot of South Korean historians criticized results of North Koreans as ‘invention of history’, ‘manipulation of historical materials’ and ‘propaganda of personal worship’. Similarly, in North Korea, results of South Korean history were ignored and criticized. But, recent papers in periodic journals quoted partly from history research of South Koreans. In South Korea, a lot of historical studies of North Korea introduced from the latter half of 1980s. So, it is desirable to make atmospheres for reexamination and exchange of researches and methodology between both sides. For the preparation of national reunification, important and shared common sources of both Koreas are national history, language and soil. With nationalist position, South and North Korea should endeavor to achieve common recognition of past history for recovery of national identity. After June the fifteenth 2000, South and North Korean historical circles earnestly put the springboard for academic exchange between both sides. On December 20th, 2000, South Korean leading historians and representatives of various historical societies agreed on historical exchange between South and North Korea under the sponsorship of National Institute of Korean History. on South Korean proposal of academic exchange, North Korean Historians replied officially on February 27th. In this mood, South and North Korean historians met together in Pyongyang from February 27th to March 6th in 2001. This ‘great special meeting’ was the very first gathering of historians from Korean division that was held in the Korean peninsula. Through the meeting, new stage of exchange and cooperation was developed and direct consultation on exchange of historical materials and cooperation could be achieved. It was an important success for better future. In the first half of this year, 2002, a meeting of South and North Korean historians will be he1d. But, unprepared exchange and meeting cannot bring meaningful results. Both sides exchange and cooperation cannot satisfy at once. It will be a long way for realization of reunified Korean history. So, development of mutual recognition of actual differences and principles of coexistence and cooperation should be strongly supported.