The Genealogy of Korean Pseudohistory and the Lust for Academic Power

Pseudo-historicism, which is based on chauvinism, is a huge force in South Korea. Pseudohistory, like pseudoscience and pseudomedicine, is characterized by antiintellectualism. There is a tendency to understand it as a category of "different interpretations of history", but this underestimates its destructive power and harmful effects. Pseudohistoricism cannot be recognized as a discipline, and the history they present is pseudohistory because it presents lies and delusions as fact.BRThe prototype of Korean pseudohistory can be found in colonialist historiography during the Japanese colonial period. Choi, Dong and Moon, Jung-chang, amateur historical researchers who were baptized into colonialist historiography, laid the foundation for Korean pseudohistory. Pseudo-historicism gained momentum with the popular success of a forged history book called Hwandanggogi(桓檀古記).BRPseudo-historicism is not the preserve of the intellectually untrained. There are many scholars in other fields of study who are immersed in pseudohistory. In order to gain academic authority, pseudohistorians have established degree programs at research institutions such as universities and published academic journals to gain a veneer of scholarship. The historical community needs to be vigilant and proactive.