The Love, Hate, and Enmity of Cultural Nationalism from the Chinese-Korea Spring Festival Dispute

Hello everyone, I'm Marley, how is your Chinese New Year this year? As the Spring Festival of the Year of the Ox draws to a close, here is a good old year for everyone. I wish you all to see further ahead in the new year. Everything is not going well for the "Ox".

That's when the New Year's flavor has not yet dissipated, let's quickly talk about a topic about the Chinese New Year. This year's Spring Festival has a topic that has been running through and through, which is the question of whether the year we live is called Chinese new year or Lunar new year in English, so that it was later revealed that the Korean side believes that the Spring Festival is a traditional Korean festival, and there are even some Idol groups wrote about Happy Korean new year on social media. This time, Chinese netizens exploded the pot again, and they began to crusade against the Koreans. It's shameless. In addition to stealing festivals such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival, even the Spring Festival has also started. Originally I thought it was a very boring discussion, not worth mentioning. But by chance I heard my parents discussing this topic and scolding Koreans for being bad. Then I realized that this has become a topic of national participation. It seems that this year, the Chinese and Korean people will set off a wave of war of words and confrontation.

Before talking about this topic, I will first clarify my position. This video does not discuss the issue of Chinese, Lunar or Korean New Year, who is right and who is wrong, because different ethnic groups and countries have different interpretations, and scolding them is meaningless. We can try to stand from a more rational and objective point of view, let’s talk about the dispute over the cultural traditions between China and South Korea, and analyze the reasons behind it.

In fact, many Chinese people's first understanding of South Korea came from the 1988 Seoul Olympics (video data). Because everyone's perception of this neighbor was only after the Korean War, a puppet regime called "South Korea". The Chinese at that time believed that the Kim dynasty in the north was the legitimate government and friend of the Korean nation. Even the other side's country name is called "South Korea" after the north. It was not until the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea in 1992 that China officially used the name "South Korea". So our generation has only 30 years of contact and understanding of Korea. There are various things that I don't understand and don't trust in the middle. I think it is also reasonable.

Back to today's topic, we can define this phenomenon in one word, which is called "cultural nationalism". As the name suggests, it is the theory of cultural unity and possession. We have talked about the Chinese people's nationalism complex for many times in terms of politics, economy, culture, and history. If you are interested, you can check out my previous videos. Today, let's not talk about China, and focus on the "cultural nationalism" of the Koreans, which may help us better understand this neighbor who has loved and killed us for thousands of years. Then, I will elaborate from several aspects such as geopolitics, national character and economic development.

First, the Peninsula Personality Theory

Geographically speaking, China, Japan and South Korea belong to mainland culture, island culture and peninsula culture respectively. Although they have been deeply influenced by Confucian culture for a long time and everyone looks basically the same, they have developed different living habits, cultural traditions and national characters.

The Korean Peninsula, where South Korea is located, is located between the mainland and the ocean, with China on the left and Japan on the right. There is Russia. It has been a strategic stronghold in East Asia or the Asia-Pacific since ancient times. Historically, under the threat of strong neighbors around for thousands of years, as a small country, the most worrying thing is to be a mermaid, and it has a deep sense of crisis. We talked about in the last episode that the Chinese nation has been threatened by various internal forces exaggerating the threat of foreign powers since the May 4th Movement, and living under the shadow of persecution paranoia.

Similarly, the people on the Korean peninsula have been living under the shadow of persecution paranoia since they realized that they are an independent people. They are a bit like those countries in the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. Because of their long-term status as subordinate countries and colonies, they also Gradually, he developed his own peninsula character. He was conservative in the mainland, hoped to find a strong backer, and was aggressive in the ocean. He was always on guard against the invasion of external forces, so he had to be careful in foreign policy. Mainly reflected in the sadness and strong personality. Therefore, it is not difficult for us to understand why the Balkan Peninsula is the powder keg of Europe, and the Korean Peninsula is also the potential powder keg of East Asia.

There is also a literary term for "delusional disorder of persecution" called "historical tragicism", which can be seen from the well-known Korean folk song "Arirang". Maybe everyone doesn't know what to sing, only Arirang Arirang. The background story of the original version is that there is a young couple. Originally, the man farmer and the woman weaver lived a happy life. The husband went to the city to work alone in order to give his wife a better life. As a result, the wife who stayed behind was often molested and bullied by the bullies, and the husband came back and heard some gossip, so he left in anger. So the wife began to call Lang Jun, which is Arirang in Korean. The husband was finally moved by his wife's true feelings and returned to his side, so the two fell in love with each other again. (MV)

On the surface, this is a bitter love song for a wife to call for the prince, but in fact it reflects the dissatisfaction of the Korean nation in the face of the colonial rulers and the desire for independence. All in all, the baby is bitter, I am weak, don't bully me.

In this kind of persecution paranoia or historical tragicism, people will stick to one-sided and selective memory of historical issues and cannot fully face up to the past, and are too sensitive to their own unfortunate history and current identity. The two countries are very similar, even South Korea is more obvious, from South Korea to Japan to blame the comfort women issue, and the usual anti-Japanese sentiment can also clearly see this clue. Although China and South Korea have a close relationship in history, due to their geopolitical sandwich status and the history of being colonized by Japan in modern times. In the modern transformation period, it also greatly affects the perspective of looking at oneself and others, showing a strong national self-esteem, especially in terms of identity and culture, showing strong exclusivity and egocentrism.

Jin Wenxue, a Korean writer born in China and living in Japan, once described the different national characters of China, Japan and South Korea with the words forbearance, split, hate, and three. For example, in Chinese Confucian culture, stories like the Foolish Old Man moving mountains, the humiliation under the crotch, and keeping a low profile are all life philosophies of "forbearance". In the long history, the Japanese have often been born with a knife, splitting things with a knife, splitting foreign cultures and taking them, cutting the abdomen, potted plants, gardens, and flower arrangements, all of which reflect the spirit of "splitting". But the hatred of Koreans is not hatred or resentment, it is a kind of "hatred" that turns iron into steel, a kind of hope for an unfulfilled dream.

I have talked so much about the characteristics and production of Koreans or the Korean nation, which may help us understand why Koreans are so competitive from the perspective of human nature. Next, we might as well look for some clues from the trajectory of modern Korean history.

Let's not talk about it for the time being. What I have to mention here is the "Sequelae of the Korean War".

As we all know, after the Korean War, the DPRK and the ROK were completely split into two countries, and China and the United States also suffered greatly. Since then, it has also opened a new prelude for the DPRK and the ROK as front-line bridgeheads in the Cold War. From the desire to unify the national unity, it has to be divided into two under the new international order, and continues to become a vassal of other countries for the sake of ideology and living environment. After the war, the economies of both the DPRK and the ROK were hit hard. There was a serious shortage of labor in the north, 40% of the population in the south was unemployed, and the total number of unemployed was as high as 2.4 million. From 1954 to 1957, Korea experienced an average annual inflation rate of 40%.

Although South Korea has also received economic aid from the United States and the United Nations, due to Syngman Rhee's dictatorship, corruption, and lack of an industrial base, its economy has been lagging behind North Korea, which received aid from China and the Soviet Union. Coupled with the prevalence of corruption in collusion between officials and businessmen, the society lost its trust in the government. Finally, in 1960, the people launched the April 19th Movement to oust the Li-style regime.

Although the Korean economy had basically stabilized prices and laid some economic foundations by the 1960s, the failure of the new interim government to effectively control social unrest provided an excuse for the military to intervene in politics. So on May 16, 1961, Park Chung-hee launched the 516 military coup and came to power, beginning the period of military and political authoritarian rule. Ethnic antagonism between North and South Korea continues to intensify. During this period, he experienced a series of social unrest such as the assassination of Park Chung-hee, the military coup of Chun Doo-hwan, and the Gwangju Democratic Movement.

On the eve of the 1988 Olympic Games, due to the previous land acquisition and demolition actions, and dissatisfaction with Chun Doo-hwan, the social contradictions were further intensified, which also made the grievances of the Korean people finally point to an outbreak - demonstrations. From June 10 to 29, 1987, a large-scale nationwide pro-democracy movement broke out in South Korea. At that time, the International Olympic Committee said that if the situation in South Korea could not be eased, it might cancel its right to host the 1988 Olympics. This key factor led the military government to compromise with public opinion. Finally, on June 29, 1987, the then ruling party candidate Roh Tae-woo released the "June 29" declaration of democratization, and was elected the first democratically elected president in the same year. Only then did South Korea end its 26-year military dictatorship. Opened the chapter of democratic politics.

Although South Korea created the miracle of the Han River during this period, it became the first of the four Asian tigers in one fell swoop. However, due to the unstable political situation during the military and political period, economic development was at the expense of the people's democracy and freedom. At the same time, the Korean government-led development model also led to the breeding of corruption between officials and businessmen. Therefore, during the more than 30 years from the post-war period to 1987, due to political darkness, dictatorship and corruption, the country's image and reputation were not good in the world, and the people naturally did not have much sense of national pride and belonging. In addition, the cultural industry Not to mention the lack of resources from China, young people at that time were still fashionable to watch Hong Kong movies and chase Hong Kong stars.

In the popular drama "Reply 1988" in the past few years, it described the joys and sorrows of ordinary people during this turbulent period, which became the collective memory of the Korean people.

Against this historical background, after the people have money and the political situation is relatively stable, Koreans urgently need to prove themselves in order to enhance their international status and influence. So the 1988 Seoul Olympics became an important propaganda window. The people of the whole country were enthusiastic, very much like the spirit of the Chinese people when we held the Beijing Olympics. A nation that has been oppressed for a long time has stood up. Back to what we said at the beginning, in the singing of hand in hand, people all over the world, including the Chinese, knew the existence of this country for the first time. Since then, South Korea has officially entered the world stage. But the South Korean government has done one thing. On the eve of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the South Korean government ordered the cancellation of Chinese characters on all street plaques and other public facilities. Although South Korea has removed Chinese characters from national education since the 1970s, this The move also marks the official start of South Korea's de-Sinicization in its international image.

Well, then with the end of the Cold War and the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, South Korea has since entered a new period of national image reshaping.

For South Korea, during the Cold War, it was the anti-communist fortress of the United States in Asia, and North Korea was the anti-capitalist fortress of the Soviet Union in Asia. After the end of the bipolar confrontation, it has brought the possibility of South Korea’s repositioning in the world. The status quo of the division of the Korean peninsula has basically been recognized by the international community, and there is no longer a situation where a nation-state is divided into two parts, whether in terms of the country's ideology, organizational structure, political system, or the socially constructed national mentality and national sentiment. It is said that North Korea and South Korea are two completely independent entities.

The "roaring" anti-communism and nationalist hopes for the reunification of the Korean peninsula are gradually fading, replaced by calm and urgent demands for economic development and revival. The North and South have developed on different paths that they have chosen, and South Korea has begun to adjust and reshape its national mentality with its determination to rely on the economy. To put it simply, it is the dilution of the ideological struggle, which has led to the rise of pan-nationalism over national sovereignty at the economic and cultural level.

Among them, there are no more milestones than two things,

One thing is the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis "National Donation" campaign.

From the late 1980s to the 1990s, Korea's industrial policy gradually shifted from an export-oriented economy to promoting import liberalization, capital market and financial liberalization. The Southeast Asian financial turmoil in 1997 also continued to South Korea. Due to the high degree of economic openness in South Korea, it has more foreign debt assets, and capital flows are more frequent. In such a rapid economic turmoil, it is naturally the first to be affected, and export trade has followed suit. also suffered a severe blow. Foreign capital has withdrawn one after another, and market confidence has collapsed like a wreck. At that time, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves were only less than 3.9 billion US dollars, and its foreign debt was nearly 10 times higher than it. Under such circumstances, under the appeal of newspapers and other media, the Koreans began to spontaneously organize a patriotic "gold donation campaign". At that time, many ordinary people took out various gold jewelry and gold souvenirs and lined up to arrive Government donations, or take out the dollars in hand to the bank to exchange for Korean won.

Then-President Kim Dae-jung and his wife also took the lead in donating precious gold jewelry. More than 2 million Koreans donated gold totaling 2.1 billion US dollars, making a classic and legendary historical event that greatly ignited the flame of nationalism. Although the gold donated by individuals will not be the main force in essence, its emotional shock and appeal are huge and far-reaching. Ordinary Korean citizens have begun to realize and have since firmly believed that only through this national unity approach, Their national talent is becoming invincible, and a sense of economic and cultural sadness and unease has accompanied the Korean people all the way.

The second thing is the "cultural nation" policy after the financial crisis

After the Asian financial crisis, the Korean people's "gold donation campaign" became famous overseas. The then President Kim Dae-jung saw the power of the national spirit. In his inaugural speech, he mentioned the "cultural nation-building" strategy, and he spared no effort to promote it. An important policy, he is convinced that shaping the national culture and spirit at the height of history is the first important thing.

Kim Dae-jung believes that "all the ills of the country are caused by the exhaustion of culture", "the foundation of South Korea's founding in the 21st century is high-tech and cultural industries." From 1999 to 2002, a series of revitalization policies for the development of cultural industries were formulated. , anime to music, all included. These policies and even legislation raised culture to a strategic level as important as national security and economic development, and started a new round of competition with other countries' cultural development and cultural sovereignty.

Under the strategy of "building a country with culture", South Korea regards entering the international market as an important strategic goal, and develops it in stages and strategically. The East Asia region, focusing on China and Japan, is the first breakthrough point, and then enters the Southeast Asian and European and American markets, and continues to develop the potential Middle East and South American markets. This is why from the late 1990s to the new millennium, a "Korean Wave" swept across China and even the entire Asian region, and a wave of handsome men and beauties flooded our aesthetic and idol choices like standard products in the production line.

With the support of government policies, the Korean film and television cultural industry has grown from $490,000 in 1997 to $30.98 million in 2003. South Korea has become another major film and television country after France that can compete with Hollywood in the United States. At present, it occupies 5% of the global industrial market share and is already the fifth largest cultural industry power.

With these two things, South Korea has achieved great success in the era of globalization by relying on the national spirit or the national system. In 2002, during the World Cup between Japan and South Korea, South Korea made a historic breakthrough into the semi-finals, although it was criticized for its fairness. . But it is true that the Koreans are completely released from the historical tragicism of the past, and they urgently need to stand at the center of the world stage. If the Olympic Games in 1988 were the beginning, then the "success" of the 2002 World Cup also greatly stimulated the unity and morale of the entire nation.

Well, due to time constraints, let's talk so much about the history of Korean cultural growth. Here we are not praising Koreans and devaluing ourselves. We need to see what is the background of a country's success in certain aspects, and what are the costs behind these successes.

It is not difficult to find that China and South Korea have many similarities in terms of historical origin, national character, economic development and the expansion of nationalism in recent years. Although it does not seem to be directly related to the Spring Festival or the dispute over cultural belonging, it all reflects the psychological changes of a nation and its desire for world order after it has grown from a weak to a strong nation. The only difference is that China has gone through several cycles of prosperity and decline in history, while South Korea has not completed a cycle from decline to prosperity. However, everyone has come to the same time period at the same time. We can see that the more a nation lacks culture, the more eager it is to occupy the culture, and the definition and promotion of cultural symbols will naturally produce a strong sense of belonging to reflect The history and traditions of the nation.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that the dispute over the ownership of similar cultures between China and South Korea has become more and more intense in recent years.

Having said that, the tradition of celebrating the Spring Festival on the first day of the first lunar month in China is only 100 years old. During this 100-year period, due to cultural and political shocks, there have also been many disputes over the existence of the Spring Festival. As for those who insist that South Korea stole the Spring Festival, should Christmas be renamed Roman Christmas? New Year's Day changed to Western New Year? So why should you care whether it is Chinese new year or lunar new year? Of course, you can think that the cultural nationalism of the Koreans is very chicken thieves, but even if the whole world admits that the Spring Festival was invented by China, don’t Koreans and Vietnamese people celebrate the Spring Festival?

Regardless of who invented it and who stole it, as a globalist, I firmly believe that cultures and traditions change over time, evolve over time, merge over time, and flourish over time. Decayed and revived. To put it bluntly, culture is a kind of tradition internally and a commodity externally. You must be able to export it to win the approval of others.

All in all, if what is in China is what is in the world, and what is in the world is also what is in China, wouldn’t it be fragrant?