<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span lang="EN-US">A Question about the
term <i style="">hanbando</i></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US">Dear
listmembers,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span>Im Dae-sik, the head editor of y</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">ŏ</span><span lang="EN-US">ksa
pipy</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">'</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">ŏ</span><span lang="EN-US">ng had asked me to translate the following and to solicit your
opinions about the word </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">the Korean peninsula</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">
"</span><span lang="EN-US"> (<i style="">hanbando</i>). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US">Christopher Liao</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US"> <br>--------------------------------------------------------------------<span style="">- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<br> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span>I</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">'</span><span lang="EN-US">m curious about the origins of the term
<i style="">hanbando </i>(</span>韓半島<span lang="EN-US">). Korea is also known by the name </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">hanbando.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">
"</span><span lang="EN-US"> This name also appears in
the article regarding sovereign territory in the South Korean constitution. It
collectively refers to the two Koreas
and distinguishes the two from other nations and nationalities. South Koreans
are instilled with a sense of ethnic pride when they vocalize the word <i style="">hanbando</i>. I am curious about the origins
of this word. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span>I am guessing this term was first
used or popularized by the Japanese as early as the 1900s. I have seen <i style="">hanbando </i>in the title of Japanese books
published during this time. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span><i style="">Hanbando</i>
is a combination of <i style="">han</i> and <i style="">bando</i>. Here the meaning of <i style="">han</i> differs from the South Korean
meaning of </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">Korea</span><span lang="EN-US">,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">
"</span><span lang="EN-US"> and the Japanese usage of this Chinese character carried
connotations of derogation towards Korea. As evidenced by the
inclusion of this Chinese character in the combinations such as </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span>三韓征伐論<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">
"</span><span lang="EN-US"> (<i style="">sankan seibatsuron</i> in
Japanese) and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span>征韓論<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US"> (<i style="">seikanron
</i> in Japanese), it tends to consider </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">Korea</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">
"</span><span lang="EN-US"> in an inferior light. If we
take a look at Japanese documents before the Meiji Reformation, instead of <i style="">Ch</i></span><i style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">ō</span><span lang="EN-US">sen</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, we find that <i style="">
Han</i> was actually used more widely to refer to Korea. The
Japanese usage of <i style="">Han </i>was similar to
the Korean usage of <i style="">wae</i> (</span>倭<span lang="EN-US">) to refer to Japan from a position of authority. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span>Moving on to <i style="">bando</i>, I am guessing that it is a Japanese translation of the
English word </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">peninsula.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">
Although a peninsula is certainly not an island, there is a high
possibility that </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">peninsula</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">
was originally coined by the Japanese to mean </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">semi-island</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">
"</span><span lang="EN-US"> due to Japan</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">'</span><span lang="EN-US">s worldview derived from its existence as an island nation. Both China and South Korea
use the word <i style="">bando </i>to refer to a peninsula. I infer
that this Japan-centric translation of this word is widely used throughout the Chinese-character-cultural
sphere. </span></p>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 바탕;" lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span>I am
interested in how the term <i style="">bando</i> came
to be translated from the English word </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 바탕;" lang="EN-US">peninsula</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">
"</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 바탕;" lang="EN-US"> and
what process it went through before settling firmly within the languages of
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. I am also interested in soliciting your views on
an alternative translation of the English word </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 바탕;" lang="EN-US">peninsula.</span>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-US">"</span>