The growing influence of Asian culture and the accelerating economic power of the Asian Pacific Rim makes it vital to understand the rich history of that part of the world, to learn where nations of the Far East have been and where they may be heading. The Korean History Project began in late 1989 as research on a detailed history of the Korean War. It has since evolved into a large scale effort to bring to life the amazing story of Korea, a nation that has survived the centuries situated at a point where powerful countries converge. Bound by its geography, Korea remains one of the few places on earth with a history tightly interwoven with that of its neighbors. The history of China, Japan, Manchuria, or Russia can be effectively told with only a fleeting mention of Korea.
Korean history is unique.
It cannot be fully understood or appreciated in isolation from the complex, panoramic history of East Asia. Asia and the West have collided in the Far East for centuries and whether intended or not, Korea has always stood in the middle or just on the edge of the struggle between competing political, economic or military interests. Over the last two thousand years, Korea has struggled for national sovereignty while living under the heavy influence or control of the Chinese, the Manchus, the Mongols, the Japanese, the Russians, and the United States, always striving to align itself with whoever could afford it the greatest protection. To this day, Korea is still struggling to find its own way among competing international political, economic, and military interests. It is a nation with a clear sense of national identity, a strong sense of fatalism, a historically justified fear that its fate has rarely been in its own hands, and a stubborn determination to shape its own destiny.