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A question about Liberation Day
To be very clear, I have no horse in this race, so to speak, and I don't have any particularly heated perspective on the topic. But...
I've been in Korea for a while, and I love history (my BA is in historic preservation), so I've been paying close attention over the years to the shifting narrative about Korea's Liberation Day (광북전).
Years ago, politicians in particular used to mention the Second World War and the role the Allies played in the Pacific War, and so on. These days, it's more likely that a lot of attention is focused on the Korean independence movement that was active in the decades leading up to WWII, from 3.1 onward. Some acquaintances chalk this up to historic revisionism (which itself is rather benign), but then others have said it's more akin to historic negationism, which is the tendency of interested parties to deny aspects of history (or even manufacture them outright, as we often see in North Korea) for the purpose of a comfortable, more socially or politically expedient result.
Again, I think the topic itself is interesting as part of historiography (the study of how we record and teach history), but even as an American I'm not all that invested in one side or another.
I wanted to ask the rest of you, though: Either as a Korean or a foreigner or whoever you are, how do you interpret this holiday? Who takes credit for it? Why?
I'm really, *really* not interested in trolling or chest-thumping and worn-out jingoism, but alas, it often reverts to that. If anyone can share some thoughtful insights, though, I'd be grateful.
Either way, have a great holiday weekend! \^\^
#local
source
To be very clear, I have no horse in this race, so to speak, and I don't have any particularly heated perspective on the topic. But...
I've been in Korea for a while, and I love history (my BA is in historic preservation), so I've been paying close attention over the years to the shifting narrative about Korea's Liberation Day (광북전).
Years ago, politicians in particular used to mention the Second World War and the role the Allies played in the Pacific War, and so on. These days, it's more likely that a lot of attention is focused on the Korean independence movement that was active in the decades leading up to WWII, from 3.1 onward. Some acquaintances chalk this up to historic revisionism (which itself is rather benign), but then others have said it's more akin to historic negationism, which is the tendency of interested parties to deny aspects of history (or even manufacture them outright, as we often see in North Korea) for the purpose of a comfortable, more socially or politically expedient result.
Again, I think the topic itself is interesting as part of historiography (the study of how we record and teach history), but even as an American I'm not all that invested in one side or another.
I wanted to ask the rest of you, though: Either as a Korean or a foreigner or whoever you are, how do you interpret this holiday? Who takes credit for it? Why?
I'm really, *really* not interested in trolling or chest-thumping and worn-out jingoism, but alas, it often reverts to that. If anyone can share some thoughtful insights, though, I'd be grateful.
Either way, have a great holiday weekend! \^\^
#local
source
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