[KS] Ancient Korean History

[Pai hyungil]

Dear Mr. Kim
As one of the handful of people who has published on
ancient Korea in America, I felt obliged to answer you.
There are many factors,including academic reasons, such as
lack of resources, qualified faculty, as well as in my
case lack of student interest in ancient topics, that
account for the unfortunate lack of historical education
on Korea. 
When I was first hired, I had offered courses on Korean
archaeology, art history, state formation, etc. but only a
handful of graduate students and undergraduates showed up.
After a few years of this, my chair asked me to offer
classes with more general appeal for a wider audience. And
so I now teach only one class on Pre-modern Korea.
I do not think that my lack of teaching skills is the
reason since my other classes on literature and film,
culture and society , modern Korea are always full.
Certainly, there is also a dearth of readable and concise
historical works for the student body so they will get
interested in the first place.
In addition, most universities and colleges also lack any
kind of Korean specialist. We can probably count maybe 20
or so schools with Korean history classes (Please feel
free to correct my estimate Korean history professors out
there). 
As for the contents, yes I deal with Tangun and all its
implications-archaeologically, historically, as a racial
myth and from the view point of nationalist
historiography.
As for the Nangnang colonies, I believe professors of
Chinese  archaeology/ history as well as Japanese
historiography are assigning my book in classes but
usually on a graduate student level. 
Hyung Il Pai
Associate Professor, East Asian Languages and Cultural
Studies
UCSB


--- Jaenam Kim <jaenam_kim at yahoo.com> からのメッセージ：
> I am very curious as to how the history of anceint
> Korean is being taught in American colleges. 
> Is it being taught at all? 
> Is it taught as an extension of Chinese history?
> Is ancient Chosun and Dangun taught as history or as
> a myth?
> Is Korean history being taught as having started
> from the colony of Han dynasty?
> Thanks.
> 
> 
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