S Korea, China in dispute on history

The ancient kingdom of Koguryo, famed for its mighty castles and warriors on horseback, has sprung back to life in a "war of history" between South Korea and China that carries alarming modern-day implications.

The dispute has raised diplomatic nerves and symbolizes what many say are rival geopolitical designs on Northeast Asia, a region rich in conflict and currently riled over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.

The wrangling could also influence the way future borders are drawn between two of Asia's biggest economic powers should the region become unstable.

Koguryo vanished from maps 1,300 years ago. But it has been dragged into the headlines by a Beijing-backed study that deems the kingdom to be an integral part of China.

Not so, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon insisted last week.

"It is an indisputable historical fact that Koguryo is the root of the Korean nation and an inseparable part of our history," he said. "We will sternly and confidently deal with any claims or arguments harming the legitimacy of our rights."

Reigning from 37BC to AD 668 and spreading Buddhism throughout the region, the Koguryo kingdom straddled what is now North Korea and part of South Korea and the northeastern Chinese region of Manchuria.

South Koreans see Koguryo as the origin of their nation and revere its warrior kings as ancestors from a Golden Age. Koguryo is the root of the word "Korea."

Two years ago, Beijing's Chinese Academy of Social Sciences launched the Northeast Asia Project to study the history of China's northeastern provinces, which cover much of ancient Koguryo and are home to large ethnic Korean communities.

Chinese scholars say Koguryo tribes were among the many minorities absorbed into greater China, and that since about two-thirds of Koguryo lies within today's China, it is key to China's history. They further enraged scholars from both South and North Korea by releasing papers claiming Koguryo was a vassal kingdom that sought Chinese sanction for its leaders and paid tribute.

Outraged South Koreans began a 10-million signature petition drive to condemn "China's distortion of history," while their government backed a parallel academic study to counter China's claims.

Korean academics say that in fact, Koguryo was a fiercely independent state that often clashed with China until its defeat by an alliance between China and the kingdom of Silla, which existed in the region from the first to the tenth centuries.