A Newly Written History of Tamna

Whenever I hear the claim that Koreans are “a people of records,” I find it absurd. This is all the more true when you look at ancient history. Forget Jeju Island; even the ancient history of the Korean Peninsula is impossible to even begin without relying on foreign records. And in the midst of this, Japanese records are dismissed out of hand from the very start. It is a ridiculous situation. Perhaps we can take some comfort in the fact that, since the 2010s, archaeological achievements have made a step forward. To overcome the reality of an absolute shortage of documentary sources, interdisciplinary research is desperately needed. If the field of Korean history wants to stop being criticized for being the lowest in quality among the disciplines in Korean historical scholarship, the academic community will need to engage in self-reflection. A regional-history approach like that of this book is also a good attempt. I hope that there will be more works of Korean history worth reading in the future.

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Folklore and Natural History Museum, 20241223, link: https://www.jeju.go.kr/museum/academic/edu.htm?act=download&seq=1499813&no=1

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