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| Shim Baek-kang, president of the Korea National Culture Research Center, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times, Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Lee Han-na
Southeast Asia, and Vietnam in particular, is becoming an important region of growth and development that has Korean corporations and education institutions seeking investments and cooperation.
The amity between the two countries is expected to increase further in tandem ― and the closeness between the two countries may well hail from the historical commonalities the two peoples share, a passionate historian of early Korean history and Chinese characters opined.
According to historian Shim Baek-kang, the president of the Korea National Culture Research Center in Seoul, Korea and Vietnam are brothers and sisters by blood, sharing an origin from the Maek tribe.
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| A copy of 'Complete Book of Historical Record of Great Viet' by Ngo Li Sien. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
His statement is based on resemblances in documents and traditional Chinese characters. In "Complete Book of Historical Record of Great Viet" (1479) by Ngo Si Lien, Vietnam's first kingdom starts with the Hung King. The father of the king, Lac Long Quan, shows how Vietnam is rooted in the Maek tribe with the traditional Chinese character of Lac meaning "Maek."
Another finding is that there is much resemblance between the two countries' first kingdoms ― Van Lang of Vietnam (2879-258 B.C.) and Gojoseon of Korea (2333 to 100 B.C.). The father of Korea's first king, Hwanung shares the same character with the Hung kings of Vietnam which also means "Maek tribe" suggesting how both countries are rooted from the same tribe. Both kingdoms also lasted for 2000 years with 18 monarchs from Hung King and Hwanung respectively – with Gojoseon having 19 other succeeding monarchs.
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| Figure depicting the resemblance of the traditional Chinese characters of the two kingdoms By Lee Han-na |
The Maek tribe dates back to around 5000 B.C. in Hongshan, Chifeng, located in today's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of North China. In 1908, archaeologists began digging up remains of an ancient civilization including a royal tomb, sacrificial altar and ancestral shrine showing a formally structured civilization. These date back roughly 2000 years earlier than the Chinese Han tribe, laying the ground for the premise that Maek is the first and the oldest tribe being the origin of later tribes.
Several documents mention how Koreans are from the Maek tribe. Gojoseon was called Bal Joseon where Bal is used interchangeably with Maek. According to the work "Classic of Mountains and Rivers," the oldest geology text in East Asia, Buyeo (a country that emerged a century before the fall of Gojoseon) was inhabited by a Maek tribe. Goryeo's other name was also Maek with its ancient arrows being referred to as "Maek arrows."
Aside from the bloodline, the Maek tribe is recognized by its culture of worshipping the sun with totems and spiritual bird emblems.
Chinese domination has resulted in the destruction and loss of ancient documents of both countries including the "Historical Record of Great Viet" (1272) written by Le Van Huu, which was a base for Ngo Si Lien's history book. However, at several historical sites, Maek's bird totems are still seen, especially at the Temple of Literature, a Confucian temple in Hanoi.
However, many countries still see the tales of Hwanung and Lac Long Quan as mythical stories since they may well be exaggerated to symbolize spiritual dominance and power.
The famous tale of how the bear won over the tiger through persistence in becoming a human by eating garlic and mugwort and marrying Dangun tells us how Gojoseon began. Meanwhile, there are tales about 100 children of Lac Long Quan with Au Co and how the children started different tribes and countries in Vietnam. These mythical stories hinder the historical aspects. Despite that, the statement of Shim is powerful considering the current situation of Korea and Vietnam.
Both cultures and foods attract each other. On April 6, a Vietnamese version of the highly popular television reality show "Running Man" will be aired as a joint production of the two countries.
Business-wise, Korea, along with Japan, is one of the top two providers of foreign direct investment in Vietnam. The new chief executive of Shinhan Financial Group also shared on March 26 his ambition to invest "aggressively" into Vietnam. In April, SK Group also plans to invest about 10 million dollars in Vin group, the top private enterprise in Vietnam.
For President Moon Jae-in's government, Vietnam is an important partner of co-prosperity in its New Southern Policy. Rep. Lee Hae-chan of Korea's ruling Democratic Party of Korea headed off to Vietnam to have meetings with the corresponding ruling party and sign a memorandum of understanding strengthening diplomatic relations.
Likewise in all aspects of diplomatic relations, business and culture, Vietnam is an important partner and friend of the nation. If both countries share the same origin, making Koreans and Vietnamese a family, it would strengthen emotional and psychological ties between the countries.
Historian Shim is also a writer who has more than 20 publications. He studied traditional Chinese at National Taiwan Normal University and earned his doctorate in history from Yanbian University in China.
You can read more articles on Shim's earlier findings as well as his interview with the Korea Times.
Lee Han-na is a Korea Times intern.
