What is mentioned above is in fact only a fraction of the list of both his academic and professional achievements. Another noteworthy aspect of his personal record is that he was the very first Korean to earn a doctorate in the scholarly field of Japanese history. When asked as to what had led him to devote himself to his studying, he pointed out that he felt a sense of duty after realizing the fact that there was a severe lack of research or studying in regards to Japan and its history. “At that time, we were simply so blind to our neighboring country, especially considering the fact that we have the most intimate and intertwined relationship with the country in a historical sense.” This made him pursue his scholastic calling in the field of Japanese history.

 

Recently, there has been an ongoing and growing concern regarding the issue of the historical distortion throughout our nation as both Japan and China have been showing somewhat intensified nationalism and ethnocentrism. The degree of history distortion has been further worsened as a result of this one-sided and self-centered political and diplomatic line of policy. The cases of the Dokdo or Takeshima Island dispute, or Liancourt Rocks to put it in a neutral connotation, the dispute of Senkaku or Diaoyu islands, and Dongbukgonjung, Northeast Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, are all examples of nationalistic history distortions, which are aggravating the relationship between the countries.

 

“Japan, especially, has been recently showing a series of retrogressive movements after the return of the Abe Administration to power,” the professor said. Indeed, Japan has been overtly publicizing their distorted historical viewpoint by visiting the Yasukuni war shrine or neglecting the existence of the comfort women of its army during World War II. As the professor pointed out, “the historical dispute may not simply end in the political domain but rather spread through other aspects such as economic, social, and cultural ones,” it can lead to grumpy and rocky relationships between the two countries in an overall sense.

 

In tackling the problem effectively and wisely, the professor emphasized the virtue of balance as a keyword. “In order to successfully minimize the negative effects of the current hegemonic competition between China and Japan, we need to actively employ the strategy of balance and attunement.” He suggested keeping a moderate and neutral line of policy in diplomatic situations between the two strong nations of East Asia and the world based upon the historical experiences.

 

Lastly, the professor put an emphasis on the part of the pursuit of universal values that can be shared throughout humankind as the kind of stand that both Korea and Eastern Asian countries should adopt. In this sense, he saw the European Union (EU) as an ideal form of communal organization that is currently leading the mankind by successfully overcoming geographical, historical, and religious issues. “It is important to come up with a realistic action plan to institutionalize regional cooperation system especially when considering the fact that the outlook of the East Asia is fast-changing at the moment.” In order to survive well and possibly even play an initiative role in realizing universal values, he again emphasized the virtue of balance.

 

Meeting with Professor Kim Hyun Koo was a great honor and surely a pleasant and valuable experience that cannot be gained so commonly. Although he was a man who has achieved great accomplishments in his own fields throughout his life, he was still very friendly and good-hearted just like your own grandfather. The reader of The Granite Tower(GT) and students of KU may as well be immensely inspired by this pioneering scholar who had bravely jumped into a field of uncertainty and yet established his own small universe with a strong sense of mission. As a student of KU, it was more than delightful and deeply satisfying to get to meet and know more about Professor Kim Hyun Koo.