Shin Chaeho
Korean ethnic nationalism is based on the idea that Koreans have existed as a single unique homogeneous race ("tan'il minjok") since ancient times. As part of an effort to create a narrative of Korean origins free from "racial contamination" from Chinese or Japanese, racial histories of Koreans published in Korea usually begin with the line "Koreans are not Japanese". As a result, the most politically correct proposed origins of Koreans are from southern Siberia ("pukpang-gye"), from the "South Sea", or mythological (as in the Dangun story). The most influential articulation of these nationalist theories of origin is Kim Chŏng-hak's "History of the formation of the Korean race" (1964); others include Kim Chŏng-bae (1976, 1987, 1990), Yi Ki-baek (1977, [with Yi Ki-dong] 1983), Kim Wŏl-lyong (1970, 1986, 1989b), Yun Mu-byŏng (1987), and Yi Chong-uk (1993). According to Shin Chaeho, the Korean people were the descendants of Dangun, who merged with the Buyeo ("Fuyu") people of Manchuria and ended their development as the core of the Goguryeo people.