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NORTH KOREA: ON THE
BORDERLINE
Part 5: A slice of Korea in
China
By Alan Fung
Part 1: Soldiers head for the
frontier
Part 2: All quiet on the Dandong
front
Part 3: The past returns to Ji'an
Part 4: Historic city tightens up
HONG KONG - A flight
from Changchun, the capital of northeastern China's
Jilin province, to Yanji takes about 40 minutes,
including 15 minutes' climbing, 20 minutes' landing and
only five minutes at the "cruising" height of 7,000
meters. Given this short flight, it is amazing that the
two neighboring cities are linked by air.
But
what strikes one most is Yanji Airport, which is has
boarding bridges and a standard two-story departure
lounge with an international division, looking more
imposing than the provincial capital airport in
Changchun.
Aside from the two mentioned
airports, there is a third one in Jilin city, the former
provincial capital. Boasting the largest airport among
the three, Yanji displays its importance in the
blueprint of China.
"It is more proper to
describe [Yanji] as a Korean town than a Chinese one,"
my guide and driver Dongyuan told me.
Indeed,
the whole Yanbian Choson (Korean) Autonomous Prefecture
seems not part of China, especially its southern part
bordering the Korean Peninsula. In Yanji, for instance,
more than 60 percent of the 400,000 population are
ethnic Koreans ("Chosons" as they are known in Chinese);
signposts and billboards appear in both Chinese and
Choson, but with the latter predominant; Korean instead
of Mandarin is the spoken language.
Of the
hottest television channels, four are broadcast in
Korean, including two Yanbian-based stations and two
others from South Korea: KBS (Korean Broadcasting
System) and MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corp). A South
Korean fad is flooding the locality with its TV plays,
singers and movie stars, while the Hong Kong celebrities
popular in mainland China can hardly find a corner
there. Channels from North Korea are also accessible,
but Yanbian people are not very interested in them.
"People of Yanbian have been fascinated by
everything of South Korea, and South Koreans are also
fascinated by our city. Many youths here have made it
one of their goals to be working in South Korea," said
Dongyuan, himself a Choson.
But this fascination
with South Korea does not extend to their brothers and
sisters in North Korea. "Because they [North Korean] are
so poor and private business is highly restricted in
that country, only companies owned by Han people or
state enterprises here will do business with them,"
Dongyuan explained. "Personally I am only interested in
purchasing Kaesong ginseng and newly issued notes from
North Korea, which can be sold as souvenirs. I have no
interest to give even a glimpse at Pyongyang."
As a matter of fact, opportunities for working
in South Korea are many for those Koreans living in
Yanbian. First of all, there is no language barrier.
Second, they receive bilingual education in schools. On
the other hand, they, together with North and South
Koreans, belong to the Tungus Clan and have the same
blood flowing in their body.
Furthermore, South
Korea's increasing investment in northeastern China
expands the demand for translators between Chinese and
Korean cooperative partners. Consequently, the number of
Yanbianers working for South Korean companies and
passenger traffic between Yanbian and South Korea are
rising.
Dongyuan has also benefited from this
trade. After making a fortune, he now works as a tour
guide and regards it as a relaxing pastime.
Travel to northeastern China has gained in
popularity among South Koreans in recent years, and
Yanbian is their first choice of destination. As a
result, many South Koreans flood into Yanji every week
and make a pilgrimage to Chanbai Mountain and Longjing
city, two leading holy places.
"As early as in
Koguryo Dynasty, which lasted from 37 BC to AD 668,
Longjin had already been the capital city of Yanbian,"
said Dongyuan. "Not until the liberation of northeastern
China [from Japan] did Yanji replace Longjin. The
remains of Korean Daisung Middle School in Longjin are
regarded as a sacred place for Koreans. Its founder, Yun
Donju, is both a scholar and an anti-Japanese hero.
Though enjoying little status in China's long history,
he remains a sage in Korean history. In addition,
Tianchi in Changbai Mountain [known as Paek Tu San in
Korean] is regarded as the origin of all Koreans,"
remarked Dongyuan, reciting history from memory.
"Yet, same as other Chinese cities, Yanbian also
demands economic development, which hinders protection
of cultural heritage in Longjin, leaving some Chinese
Koreans in Yanbian discontented. For many Koreans, only
Longjin could be the justified capital city. But now the
status has been granted to Yanji and it consequently
enjoys better development over the past decades. By
comparison, Longjin has almost deteriorated into a small
town. Our heritage in Longjin, though the government
also vows to protect it, gets mixed with other cultures
and loses its original flavors.
"For example,
Yun's Yi Song Pavilion is still kept on the site but it
is lacking in supporting facilities and the local
government even charges for admission. Several tablets
with his poems have been corroded long ago, but no one
seems to care about it. In the world where the Han race
dominates, though Chosons might not be ignored
completely, they will never be valued much either."
Dongyuan could not help showing his indignation.
I asked him: "Since Yanbian is an autonomous prefecture
administrated by Chosons, why don't you Chosons try
harder to protect those things that you cherish?"
"If that heritage is located in a remote area,
we may work out some methods to protect it," he replied.
"But if it stands in the way of a provincial development
plan, we can simply do nothing about it. In short,
economic development always comes first. Besides, you
may get a clue by looking at the race composition in
provincial authorities," Dongyuan added, finally voicing
the real obstacle of Choson heritage protection.
After more than 50 years of Chinese rule, the
Chosons in this region are still quite aware of the
difference between "you and I and "we" regarding their
relationship with Han race. In its recent moves to send
troops to the Sino-North Korea border, the central
government attaches much more attention to Jilin than to
Liaoning province. Clearly, besides the geographic
factors, race relationship also plays a key role.
(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All
rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for
information on our sales and syndication policies.)
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