S.Korean media need to learn their history

By Chen Ping

Some South Korean media outlets had harsh words last month for China's high-profile commemoration of the entry of the "Chinese People's Volunteer" forces into the Korean War.

One thing that some Korean scholars and journalists were particularly unhappy about was a remark made by a top Chinese leader calling the war "a great and just war for safeguarding peace and resisting aggression."

From the Chinese perspective, there was nothing wrong with China sending its troops to fight against aggression when its territorial security was under threat from a strong and unfriendly power.

China played no part in the early stages of the war, when North Korean forces entered South Korean territory and took Seoul, but intervened only after the US-led counteroffensive drove North Korean forces back up the peninsula.

When China entered the war in October 1950, North Korea was on its last legs, and US generals like Douglas MacArthur were pushing for military action against China itself.

Chinese see the war as just because it was fought to save a neighboring country on the verge of total collapse, to defend their own homeland and safeguard their own borders. China's name for the conflict, "the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea," reflects this perspective.

Some Korean commentators even wrongly accused China of "distorting history." But it is common that people interpret historical facts differently based on different viewpoints. Accusations of "distorting history" should not be thrown about just because of disagreements over interpretations.

South Koreans should also recognize that the origins of the conflict go beyond the events of June 25, 1950.

Talking about the true nature of the military conflict, many Western scholars agree that the Korean War was originally a civil war.

US historian Bruce Cumings argues that "It was a civil war, a war fought primarily by Koreans from conflicting social systems, for Korean goals. It did not last three years, but had a beginning in 1932, and has never ended."

Serious reflection is needed in South Korean society of the role their nation played in the lead-up to the Korean War, from hastily establishing the government of the Republic of Korea on August 15, 1948, one month before the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, to the continuous and escalating military skirmishes along the 38th Parallel until the outbreak of the all-out war.

Six decades after the eruption of the Korean War, the two Koreas are still technically at war.

The South Korean government, under its bellicose president Syngman Lee, refused to sign the armistice agreement in July 1953, even though North Korea and China were trying hard to negotiate the agreement with the US.

One Korean newspaper said in its editorial that "Koreans think that China deserves to be criticized for intervening in the war at its own discretion without the approval of the rightful owners of the Peninsula."

But at that point, could either side really be described as the rightful owners? Each had their own claims, and their own backing from ideologically aligned foreign powers.

Nor did China intervene in the war "at its own discretion." Perhaps the editorial writer wasn't aware that China entered the war upon an invitation from the North Korean leader Kim Il-sung.

Toward the end of a letter addressed to "Respected Comrade Mao Zedong" and jointly written with North Korea's foreign minister Pak Hon-yong, Kim explicitly pled for military aid. "We have to request that you provide us with special assistance, namely we hope the Chinese People's Liberation Army will embark directly to support our army's operation in case the enemy attacks the areas north of the 38th Parallel."

There was a long historical tradition of China sending its troops after Korean rulers requested help in emergencies. This happened twice in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)to fight against the invasions led by Japanese shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi and twice in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to put down domestic Korean military and political revolts.

So China's participation in the Korean War was within a tradition of shichu youming - dispatching troops with a just cause.

Philip Crowley, a US State Department spokesman, reportedly said that he would have "go back and dust off the history books, because that doesn't sound right to me" after hearing of China's position on the Korean war.

But perhaps it's South Korean scholars and journalists who need to brush up on their historical perspective.

The author is deputy managing editor of the Global Times. chenping@globaltimes.com.cn