|Past, Present and Future of Korea’s
Sacred Mountain -- Baekdu-san
a new research book from the AKS
2010 October 15th, from The Korea Herald
Located on the border between North Korea and China, Mt. Baekdu is the highest mountain on the
Korean Peninsula. A dormant volcano, the mountain has been considered sacred ever since the
legendary first Kingdom of Korea, Gojoseon (2233 B.C.-108 BC).
After the Korean War (1950-1953), not many academic accounts of the mountain were published by
South Korean scholars. Back in June, however, the mountain managed to grab international attention
when Yoon Seong-hyo, a scholar from Busan National University, said it will see a major volcanic
eruption in four to five years. Last month, the National Emergency Management Agency reported that
any eruption of the volcano would likely cause severe flood damage in North Korea, destroying roads
and buildings within a 30 kilometer-radius in just 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Amid the current controversy, the Academy of Korean Studies published a rare academic account of
the mountain, “Mt. Baekdu: Present and Future” this week. With contributions from 13 scholars, the
book extensively discusses the mountain in four categories: its history, environment, ecology and
For the last 10 years, the Academy of Korean Studies has been interacting with North Korea’s
Academy of Social Sciences, the communist nation’s official academic-research institute. Mostly at
Yanbian University in Jilin Province, China, scholars from the two Koreas would gather for academic
conferences on diverse issues concerning the peninsula.
Yun Ji-seon, the editor of the book, said “Mt. Baekdu: Present and Future” had been initially planned
to be co-written by the scholars from both Koreas. “It did not work out because the North Korean staff
insisted their late leader Kim Il-sung’s propagated myth that he organized his resistance against the
Japanese occupation at the mountain be in the introduction,” she said.
Though it is not co-written, many parts of the book have been written based on the research material
North Korean scholars provided through Yanbian University. “The South Korean scholars have
verified the materials along with Chinese scholars, and made sure they are factual,” Yun said.
Along with analysis on the mountain’s history and ecology, the book also offers an extensive
discussion on the current border dispute at the mountain between North Korea and China. It
particularly addresses China’s recent claim that Duman (Tumen) River, a long river that serves as part
of the boundary between China and North Korea, originates from Wonji, a lake located in Mt. Baekdu
in Chinese territory.
Previously, it had been widely believed that the river flows from Cheonji of Mt. Baekdu, a crater lake
on the border between China and North Korea. “Because Wonji is Chinese property, if the Duman
River which sets the boundary between the two countries originates from there, it’s easier for the
Chinese to claim more parts of the mountain as their territory,” said Yun. “The river and the border
between the two countries become a lot shorter if it flows from Wonji, which is located far east of
Kim Jeong-bae, the president of the Academy of Korean Studies and one of the authors of the book
said the team started the project because they hadn’t seen many texts on the mountain despite its
cultural, historical, and environmental significance.
“We live in a reality where more research on the mountain can make a lot of difference,” he said,
“especially because there are a lot of historical debates between Korea and China, on the territorial
matters of the mountain.”