▲ The signpost at the entrance of Yun Dong-ju's birthplace in Longzheng Village, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region, Jilin Province, China


During the Japanese colonial period, poet Yun Dong-ju (1917~1945) has another controversy over the nationality notation between Korea and China.



It was a new opportunity that Seo Kyung-deok, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, protested against Baidu yesterday (on the 16th), saying that the Chinese portal Baidu Encyclopedia incorrectly stated Yun Dong-ju's nationality as'China' and the nation as'Chosun tribes'.



Professor Seo protested against Baidu on December 30 last year in line with the birthday of Dong-ju Yun, and requested another revision on the day of Dong-ju Yun's death on February 16.



On Weibo, which is called the Chinese version of Twitter, this morning, the hashtag'#A Korean professor asked to change the nationality of a Korean-Chinese poet to Korea#' became a popular search topic and received more than 300 million views.



Chinese netizens generally dismissed Professor Seo's request and showed a cynical reaction.



The Hwangu Times published by the People's Daily, an agency of the Communist Party, delivered the protests of Professor Seo and reported that it is difficult to recognize the nationality of historical figures such as Yun Dong-ju according to the Chinese nationality law and the historical situation.



The newspaper heard that Yun Dong-ju was born in China, and when he was born, Korea was under Japanese occupation, before it was officially founded.



In addition, he added that Yun Dong-ju had never made clear about his nationality in his lifetime.



The Hwangu Times stressed, "As for the nationality of Yun Dong-ju, experts in both countries should begin to testify and analyze."



The newspaper also accused Professor Seo of encouraging national sentiment in Korea by inflating controversy over the Kimchi debate between Korea and China.



Controversy has continued since the Chinese authorities restored the birthplace of Yun Dong-ju in Longjing, the Korean Autonomous Region of Yanbian Province in Jilin Province in 2012, and erected a monument at the entrance with the word'Chinese Korean Patriotic Poet'.



The village of Longjing Myeong-dong, where Yun Dong-ju was born and raised, was a Chinese land, but it was the home of immigrant Koreans at the time. This is the opinion of the Korean side.



In Korean academia, there is an opinion that the time and place of Yun Dong-joo's birth has a historical peculiarity, so it is important to focus on his ethnic orientation rather than his nationality.



Experts say that Yun Dong-ju wrote poetry in Hangeul and had a clear national identity as a Korean.



In particular, in Yun Dong-ju's poem'Starry Night', there is a passage called'Pe, Kyung, Jade, and the names of these foreign girls', but calling a Chinese Han Chinese girl as a'exotic girl' did not consider herself as a Chinese, and the identity of Koreans. It is counted as evidence showing that you had.



The Korean government is also demanding correction from China over the issue of the nationality marking of Yun Dong-ju.



A diplomatic source in Beijing said, "We are constantly communicating with the Chinese side to rectify this issue. We are taking a comprehensive approach, taking into account historical facts and Korean sentiment."



(Photo = Courtesy of Seo Gyeong-deok, Yonhap News)