Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State-formation Theories

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Harvard Univ Asia Center, 2000 - History - 543 pages

In this wide-ranging study, Hyung Il Pai examines how archaeological finds from throughout Northeast Asia have been used in Korea to construct a myth of state formation. This myth emphasizes the ancient development of a pure Korean race that created a civilization rivaling those of China and Japan and a unified state controlling a wide area in Asia.

Through a new analysis of the archaeological data, Pai shows that the Korean state was in fact formed much later and that it reflected diverse influences from throughout Northern Asia, particularly the material culture of Han China. Her deconstruction of the uses of the archaeological finds by nationalistic historians reveals how they have been utilized to legitimate Korean nationalism and a particular form of national identity.

 

Contents

The Formation of Korean Identity I
1
The Colonial Origins of Prehistoric Korea
23
The Mythical Origins of Ancient Korea
57
A Critical Review
97
A Case Study in Cultural Contact and Cultural Change
127
The Leland Interaction Sphere in Korean Prehistory
174
Nationalism and Rewriting the Wrongs of the Past
237
A Han Period Burials
291
B Cultural Identification of Han Period Burials
361
Lelang Sites Inside Chapter 5 and Outside
398
F Model of Acculturation
410
J Major Excavations on the Korean Peninsula
417
Notes
421
Bibliography
471
Glossary
533
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About the author (2000)

Hyung Il Pai is Associate Professor of Korean History and East Asian Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

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