환동해권에서 발해유적 세계유산 등재 전망과 의미 = Prospects and Meaning of World Heritage Listing of Balhae Historic Sites in the East Sea Region

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the significance of Balhae culture in the East Sea region centered on the East Sea, such as the East Sea region of the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese archipelago, the Amur and Usuri rivers, and the Primorsky Krai regions, not the center of China’s central region. The order of development of this article was to first investigate the value of the Pan-East Sea region, which encompasses the Russian Primorsky Krai and the lower Amur River, and the east and southeast coasts of the two Koreas, and the status of Balhae country, which built the best advanced culture in the Pan-East Sea region from the 7th century to the early 10th century. Second, the Chinese government is currently making a lot of investment and effort to register Balhae ruins as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then, I summarized what candidates for registration among Balhae relics were. Third, I investigated what approach would be possible if it was registered and what the meaning of registration was. At the end of the final conclusion, the purpose of the study was achieved by proposing the role of Korea from the standpoint of Balhae, the subject of the Pan-East Sea region, not the center of China.
China’s efforts to protect its Balhae relics should be respected at a time when many of them are being damaged. However, we should be wary of the attitude of utilizing cultural heritage for political purposes. Efforts will be needed to recognize and protect the many countries and peoples that were in the past in the East Sea region, where the border was fluid, as a common history in East Asia, away from the monopoly of history to interpret it only as China’s history. It should be faced that not only China, but all countries related to the East Sea region, including South Korea, North Korea, and Russia, have a role together.