Simmering Strife: Mt. Paektu and Sino-Korean Relations THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Katy Straily, B.A. Graduate Program in East Asian Studies The Ohio State University 2018 Thesis Committee: Pil Ho Kim, Adviser Mitchell Lerner Deborah Solomon Copyright by Katy Straily 2018 Abstract This research seeks to examine the creation of modern North and South Korean national identity and show the potentially explosive ramifications that this could have on Sino-Korean relations in a reunification era. Historical memory describes the way through which groups of people deliberately construct their history. These narratives are often harnessed by governments in pursuit of their political goals. Paektu Mountain, called Changbaishan by the Chinese, is a 9,000 feet volcano that straddles the border of North Korea and China. This mountain is the source of Korean foundation myth, as it is said to be where Korea’s founder, Tan’gun, was born over 3,000 years ago. In modern history, Mt. Paektu and the myth that surrounds it has become a symbol of both North and South Korean nationalism. This begs the question: how can a national symbol have the power to affect foreign relations on the Korean peninsula? Mt. Paektu thus offers us a critical window into understanding Korean nationalism and anticipating the subsequent problems of reunification and national identity. i Dedication Dedicated to Taehyun, Dante, and Petra ii Vita 2010……………………………………………………………….. Jerome High School 2013…………..……………………………….. B.A History, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: East Asian Studies iii Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………….i Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………ii Vita……………………………………………………………………………………………….iii List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………….V Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 1. The Importance of Mt. Paektu to North and South Korea…………………………….6 Chapter 2. History of Border Territorial Agreements …………………………………………...22 Chapter 3. The Northeast Project and Changbaishan …………………………………………...35 Chapter 4. Future Outlook on Border Negotiations……………………………………………...44 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….53 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..57 iv List of Figures Figure 1. Image of Mt. Paektu on Sino-Korean border…………………………………………...2 Figure 2. A North Korean postage stamp of the paining “Snowstorm in Mt. Paekdu”…………18 Figure 3. Image of Kando territory ……………………………………………………………...28 Figure 4. Image of women’s short track team holding up signs written with “Mt. Paektu is our territory!”………………………………………………………………………………………...47 v “I propose the following definition of the nation: it is an imagined political community- and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign. It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion.” -Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism Introduction Historical memory describes the way through which groups of people deliberately construct their history. These memories or narratives are often harnessed by the state and propagated throughout the masses in pursuit of its political goals. Paektu Mountain, called Changbaishan by the Chinese, is a 9,000 feet volcano that straddles the border of North Korea and China (See Figure 1). This mountain is where Korean foundation myth claims that its founder, Tan’gun, was born over 3,000 years ago. In modern history, Mt. Paektu became the epicenter of North Korean ideology with the Kim leaders’ “Paektu bloodline” emphasized to highlight legitimacy of the regime.1 It also holds symbolic significance to many South Koreans as the ancestral home of the Korean people and has even spawned several religious followings. Changbaishan is the focal point of a series of policies aimed at assimilating the region into the People’s Republic of China. Mt. Paektu and the myth that surrounds it has become a symbol of 1 There are two writing systems commonly used for the romanization of the Korean writing system: McCune-Reischauer and Revised Romanization. My writing adapts to the standards set forth by McCune- Reischauer. 1 both the North and South Korean nation. This begs the question: how can a national symbol/image have the power to affect foreign relations on the Korean peninsula? Figure 1: Image of Mt. Paektu on Sino-Korean border2 2 Digital image. South China Morning Post. Accessed March 23, 2018. http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1584579/uncovering-secrets-mount-paektu-china-north-korea- border 2 My research will trace through the history of territorial agreements surrounding Mt. Paektu and delve into contemporary territorial contentions through the lens of Korean national identity in order to illustrate the contentious nature of this topic and show the impetus for a conflict. Through this case study on Mt. Paektu, this research seeks to examine the creation of modern Korean national identity (North and South) and show how their ancient historical memories may have potentially serious ramifications on Sino-Korean relations in a reunification era. Identity is an essential component of international relations. Alexander Wendt explains that it is “a key link in the mutual constitution of agent and structure . [that] lead actors to see situations as calling for taking certain actions and thus for defining interests in certain ways.”3 The collective identity of a state is largely drawn from elements of its culture and its history, providing a bridge between the past, present, and future. This collective identity allows individuals within a state to identify themselves with a greater being, the nation, that transcends time. This feeling of a larger existence allows the individual to find meaning and dedicate oneself to the needs of the collective. Accompanying the collective identity is the multitude of memories that the group carries with it. Eric Langenbacher explains that “the salience of any value or memory can be assessed by the degree of diffusion and internalization among both the more general elite and the masses.”4 Some memories in particular, resonate deeply with both the elite and the masses which instills a deep well of public sentiment, quietly persisting in the background, or capable of begetting latent conflict when sufficiently provoked. The memory’s 3 Wendt, Alexander. ‘‘Collective Identity Formation and the International State,’’ American Political Science Review 88:2 (1994). 384. 4 Warburg, Bettina. “Germany's National Identity, Collective Memory, and Role Abroad“. Langenbacher, Eric and Shain, Yossi. Power and the Past: Collective Memory and International Relations. (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2010). 54. 3 critical association with the deeply instilled collective identity is what allows it to generate such powerful emotions and actions within the realm of international relations. The importance of memory in international relations is undeniable. Langenbacher elaborates on the two ways through which memory plays a role: Memory clearly matters for international affairs in both a diffuse sense—in terms of the identities and values that the makers of foreign policy bring with them; and in terms of the specific demands, valued or preferred policies, and historical analogies used in making a particular decision.5 For this research, the way that both North and South Korea views the Korean nation, a collective ethnic identity that in many ways transcends political divisions, is the key identity and associated values that may shape the prerogatives of a reunified state. The ways that both states have chosen to construct memories surrounding Mt. Paektu through the frame of both foundation myth and the ethnic nation have instilled deeply held values that are attached to the geographic region. Mt. Paektu thus offers us a critical window into understanding modern Korean nationalism and anticipating the subsequent problems of reunification and national identity. As my research seeks to clarify the Korean views on territorial claims to Mt. Paektu, I heavily utilized the existing literature written by Korean academics on the region. Limited by knowledge of Chinese, I compared these researchers’ interpretations of the texts on historical border negotiations (Andre Schmid, Jong-Seok Lee, Seonmin Kim). Through intensive study of Korean academic research on Chinese policy surrounding the region, I was able to distill the 5 Ibid. 38-39. 4 different ways through which Korean academia views Mt. Paektu and explore the nature of the dispute. In order to accurately depict the way that both North and South Koreans view themselves, it is essential to explore not only how the government represents the Korean nation, but how Korean citizens represent their own interests. Accordingly, my research has analyzed both government and public-initiated actions. Due to the restrictive nature of the North Korean regime, exploring public opinion or public-initiated actions was unfeasible, but I explored the North Korean perspective on Mt. Paektu through government propaganda and various official statements from the Korea Central News Agency. The North Korean political ideology and ethnic nationalism is so deeply inculcated into the public that some measure of internalization can be assumed. For the South Korean