The Chinese embassy’s public activity in South Korea has expanded significantly since the replacement of Ambassador Qui Guohong with Xing Haiming in 2020. According to the Chinese embassy, its public activities rose from 18 in 2019 to 157 as of November 2020. In 2019, there were an average of two public activities a month, while there were two activities in three days this year, which suggests that the embassy has a very busy schedule. Through the Chinese embassy, China has expanded its influence on politics, economy, administration, education and culture across the country. China, in particular, has expanded its influence in Korea based on its biased history of the Jeju 4.3 incident (Apr. 3, 1948) and the Korean War.
Distorting the historical facts of the Jeju 4.3 incident
The Jeju 4.3 incident of 1948 refers to an uprising by the North Korean South Party forces who were against the establishment of a separate independent government in the south, which was subdued together with the U.S. Army. After the incident, South Korea conducted a general election on May 10th, declared its constitution and also established the groundwork for a new country by conducting a presidential election and forming a cabinet. The Republic of Korea was established on August 15th, 1948. The 4.3 incident was a coup d’état that was plotted by communists who were against the South Korea’s liberal democratic government. However, China and the Moon Jae-in administration are portraying the incident as a democratization movement and argue that the U.S. Army and the South Korean military, who subdued them, were fierce oppressors who ignored human rights. China and Moon Jae-in do not recognize the establishment of the Republic of Korea, and provide legitimacy to the 4.3 incident. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was able to intervene deeply into South Korea’s education, culture and politics with the help of the Moon administration, and not only that, but it also raised the 4.3 incident as a human rights issue with the United Nations and is trying to deny the legitimacy of the South Korean government.
There was a symposium on the 4.3 incident held at the UN’s headquarters in New York on June 20, 2019, for the first time. During the forum, a survivor of the incident, Ko Wan-woon, argued that the U.S. military government was responsible for excessive use of force and massacres. The National Council of Churches (NCCC) USA participated as a representative for civic groups. Many people have a misconception that the organization is a Christian organization. The NCCC, along with the NCCK, are pseudo-religious communist organizations that spread the ideas of Kim Il-sung and argues that Kim Il-sung is above God. South Korea’s UN Peace Memorial Hall signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nogunri Peace Memorial Foundation. The UN Peace Memorial Hall also appointed famous South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung as an honorary ambassador. The South Korean defense ministry expressed regrets and condolences regarding the 4.3 incident. This act denies the establishment of the Republic of Korea and recognizes the North Korean government as the sole government, and this also is an act of handing over responsibility for the 4.3 incident to the U.S. Army. The Moon administration and the CCP, who spread information about the 4.3 incident to the UN and fund related peace organizations, legitimized their communist beliefs through history like this.
The Moon administration and the ruling party proposed a special act on the 4.3 incident on July 24, 2020. It aims to punish those who defame victims or their family members with up to 7 years in prison or up to 70 million won in fines. This act means that people who say that a victim of the 4.3 incident is a communist who was part of the North Korean-derived Workers’ Party of South Korea will be punished by being sent to prison. The Moon administration plans to prevent efforts to reevaluate the 4.3 incident and correct historical truths.
Distorting historical facts about the Korean War
The People’s Republic of China was not a member of the UN when the Korean War first broke out. It was the Taiwan’s Republic of China that represented China. China uses the Korean War as a propaganda tool by portraying it as a victory that stopped the U.S imperialist invasion. China calls it the war of Anti-American aid and propagandizes it as a victory that stopped the United States, which intervened in a war on a Korean peninsula. Anti-American aid means that China helped Korea, but the fact was that the United States stood with South Korea while China helped North Korea, thus China was an enemy of South Korea and the United States.
In 2010, Xi Jinping, then the vice president of China, said, “The war broke out because the Truman administration dispatched the military to get involved in the Korean internal conflict.” Xi added that “The United States carried out air strikes to destroy China’s northeastern cities and the war expanded to our sovereign territory.” One can easily find out that they are using the Korean War to propagandize anti-American sentiment.
The Chinese Global Times reported in 2019 that Senator Ted Cruz took the lead in proposing the Taiwan Assurance Act, which aims to provide military aid to Taiwan and strengthen the country’s status in the world and warned that, “If Cruz understands a little about the Korean War in the 1950s, he will figure out how much the powerful U.S. paid for underestimating China’s determination.”
A 2018 editorial from the Global Times commented on the trade war between the U.S. and China, “A strategic resolution is being established in China, which is to fight the Trump administration’s trade aggression in the same way the country fought U.S. troops during the Korean War.”
China is also using propaganda to have people stand against the United States by producing various movies and dramas on the Korean War. Recently, the South Korean boy band BTS received the Van Fleet Award from the Korean Society for its outstanding contributions to the promotion of U.S.-Korea relations and said during their acceptance speech that, “We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations (South Korea and the U.S.) shared together and the sacrifices of countless men and women.” China strongly criticized the speech, saying that it goes against the Chinese historical understanding of the war to resist the United States and aide Korea and the country canceled all advertisement agreements with South Korean brands like Samsung, Hyundai Motor and FILA. It also retaliated against BTS by banning all products related to the group from being sold in the country.
Furthermore, at an event hosted by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, the Moon Jae-in administration taught people that the Korean War was not caused by an invasion by North Korea and Chinese communists but that it was caused by the United States. It argues that the United States initiated the war to sell and use its weapons abroad, while China was there to help unify Korea. They are even calling Kim Won-bong (Kim Il-sung’s right-hand man), a general from the North Korean army who shot a large number of South Korean soldiers and citizens, a hero. The administration also proposed a bill to prevent Paik Sun-yup, South Korea’s first four-star general and a symbol of the fight to protect freedom and democracy who saved the country during the Korean War, from being buried at a national cemetery. He currently is buried at a national cemetery but he might be moved to another place once the bill is passed. Various U.S. government institutions like the State Department, White House National Security Council, as well as the U.S. Army and embassy in Korea paid their respects to the passing of General Paik, but Moon Jae-in did not pay his respects whatsoever. He did not allow General Paik’s funeral to be administered by the government and the people had to participate in General Paik’s funeral, which was set up outside. The government issued 22 million won fines for setting up the funeral outside. For Moon Jae-in and the Chinese Communist Party, Paik Sun-yup was an enemy.
In 2018, the Chinese constitution was amended and, not only was the presidential term limits were removed, a new socialist idealism uniquely linked with Xi Jinping’s new era was added to the constitution. Xi Jinping is publicly spreading the idea of communism, while the Moon Jae-in administration calls for an anti-America and anti-Japan platform. The Moon administration is publicly dispatching Korean politicians, public officials and entrepreneurs to China so they can learn from the Chinese government.
South Korean local governments are standing by China through the Chinese embassy. Dangjin-si set up plans with Yuhuan, China to facilitate exchanges between the two cities and established an organization to deal with a Korea-China cultural exchange program. Chungju signed a MOU with Yantai in China’s Shandong province to work on economic exchanges. Cheonan is planning on visiting China’s Manghyang Cemetery to participate in China’s anti-Japan movement. Cheonan also sent 420 high school students to China as a field trip and they toured Chinese historical sites related to Beijing’s anti-Japanese movement. Students from South Chungcheong will also travel to similar historical places in China. Suwon, in Gyeonggi, also had people visit Shanghai and other places to participate in the Chinese anti-Japanese movement. There are too many examples to list and the Chinese embassy participated in 156 public activities just this year with Korean local governments, government institutions, politicians, universities and companies and is spreading Chinese Xi Jinping’s philosophy to Korea. What makes it more troublesome is that politicians and students who received such education from China are actually believing in and participating in anti-American and anti-Japanese propaganda.
Korea declared independence from China both politically and economically in 1894. The Independence Gate in Korea used to be a place where Korean officials went out to greet Chinese delegations and it used to be called Youngeun Gate, but it was destroyed since it symbolized a servile attitude toward China. Independence Gate was established at the location. Korea has been an independent nation for a long period of time historically, but China interfered with its internal issues through political and economic pressure and China continued to receive tribute from Korea. The Independence Gate symbolizes the end of the relationship with the Qing Dynasty and Korea’s independence as a sovereign state.
It appears that the public activities of the Moon Jae-in administration and Chinese government show that the relations between the two countries have gone back to where they were before the independence of Korea. China successfully achieved rapid economic growth and expanded its influence around the world. However, this did not lead to the establishment of the open and free Chinese society that the United States once expected. Instead, the Chinese Communist Party decided to exploit the order that is based on a free and open society. It is trying to reform the international system to favor its national interests. This will pose a great threat to free democratic countries by spreading anti-American and anti-Japanese ideas and communism. If Korea is left alone with the Chinese Communist Party, it will lead to the birth of new generation with incorrect historical views and there is a chance that this will lead to the collapse of the free, democratic system that the country has kept for 70 years.
