Criticism is mounting from the opposition over President Lee Jae-myung's mention of "Hwandangogi (桓檀古記)" during a briefing by the Northeast Asian History Foundation.
Hwandangogi is a book that deals with ancient history from the Dangun Gojoseon era and is known to have been written in 1911 by a figure named Gye Yeon-su. Mainstream historians view Hwandangogi as an apocryphal text, but some independent historians regard it as actual history and study it.
On the 12th, the president asked Park Ji-hyang, chair of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, "Regarding history education, there's that Hwanppa debate, right?" When Park answered, "I'm not sure," the president said, "You know, Dangun, Hwandangogi, the people who advocate and study that are disparagingly called Hwanppa."
The president said, "There's a fight going on now over research on ancient history," and asked, "Does the Northeast Asian History Foundation not do research on ancient history?" Park replied, "I think what you mean are those so-called independent historians, but because the theories and claims of professional researchers are far more persuasive, we have no choice but to accept the views of professional researchers."
The president then continued references to Hwandangogi, saying, "Is something without evidence not history?" and "Whether historical records mean physical evidence or whether what's in historical documents counts as evidence is a matter of debate."
The opposition voiced unified criticism of the president for mentioning Hwandangogi. Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, said, "Hwandangogi is a forgery. It appears in no sources before 1911, modern Japanese-style Sino-Korean words appear in records claimed to be ancient, and it directly contradicts archaeological evidence," adding, "If Hwandangogi is history, then The Lord of the Rings is history."
Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the People Power Party, also said, "In the historical community, it was long ago concluded almost unanimously that Hwandangogi is a fabricated apocryphal text," adding, "The president may actually believe the authentic-text theory of Hwandangogi or personally be Hwanppa (a disparaging term for Hwandangogi researchers), but the presidency is not a place to display half-baked personal tastes."