Note from the Editor

Abstract

Note from the Editor Sem Vermeersch, Editor-in-chief It is with great sadness that I start this note with news of the untimely passing of one of our board members, Hyung Il Pai. Over the years she has visited Kyujanggak frequently for her research, and took a very active part in our activities, for example by giving memorable research presentations on her recent work that combines heritage studies and tourism. All of us have benefited greatly from her wit and wisdom. She joined the board in 2016, and now I deeply regret not having had more time to enjoy her expertise. Prof. Pai will be greatly missed. As of this issue, a number of changes have been implemented. First of all, Prof. Hwang Jae-moon, HK Professor at the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, has joined as an associate editor. His field of expertise is literary and intellectual movements in the late 19th and early 20th century. We also welcome as new board members Prof. Olga Fedorenko, of the Department of Anthropology, and Prof. Hilary Finchum-Sung, of the Department of Korean Music, and bid farewell to Prof. Roald Maliangkay (ANU) and Young-mee Yu-Cho (Rutgers University). I would like to thank the outgoing board members for their unstinting efforts toward the journal. The biggest change, however, concerns the creation of an advisory board. Unlike the editorial board, which guides and advises on the editorial process, mainly the review of articles, the advisory board will help to determine the journal's overall character and assist in maintaining ethical integrity. Finally, a small but important detail. As of this issue, the names of all contributors will be written in the sequence first name–surname. Previously for Korean names we followed Korean writing custom, which puts the surname first, but this has led to some confusion. It has come to our attention that in the production of academic databases, the people who input the data often confuse first names and surnames in the case of Korean authors' names. We hope that by standardizing the order this will not happen anymore. However, we [End Page v] maintain the practice of following standard Romanization rather than the author's own Romanization of their name in the case of citations. If the author has also published in English, however, their self-Romanized name will appear in brackets to facilitate cross-referencing. On to the contents of this issue then. We start with an article by Ja Won Lee on the depiction of Chinese antiques, mainly bronzes, in the portraits of late Chosŏn scholar-officials. The author concludes that the inclusion of these antiques was deliberate, and served to highlight the sitter's sophistication and erudition, mainly in the area of Chinese culture and history. The next two articles show the impact of the colonization by Japan on the trajectory of Korean history and culture. First, Taewoo Kim's article shows how Japanese concerns about Russia as an enemy to its project of East Asian "solidarity" filtered down to Koreans. While at the start of the nineteenth century we see a variety of feelings, from curiosity to mild disdain, by the end of the nineteenth century many intellectuals had been infected by the "Russophobia" emanating from Japan. Interestingly, it was the Chosŏn Stratagem written by the Qing official Huang Zunxian, envoy to Japan and himself influenced by Japanese views, that played a crucial part in changing Korean perceptions of Russia. Myung-joon Ha's article about research on the Chosŏn wangjo sillok carried out under the aegis of the Japanese Government General in Korea reveals the more subtle manipulation taking place through what was supposed to be objective, academic research. Various projects carried out to edit, study, and represent this invaluable source were largely monopolized by Japanese scholars. Serving as the basis of ambitious historical projects, the excerpting, reorganization, and translation of passages from the sillok often served to underpin desired discourses, notably those of Chosŏn factionalism and dependency. A completely different topic is presented in Mitchell Lerner's research on what he terms the "second Korean War." This refers to an escalation of incidents and conflicts instigated by North...