Lee Jae-myung and his wife pose for a commemorative photo with Xi Jinping and his wife using Xiaomi phones after a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the 5th. [Photo = Yonhap News]
On the 5th, the South Korea-China summit held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing was more than just a diplomatic ceremony. President Lee Jae-myung defined this visit as the "first year of the full restoration of South Korea-China relations," emphasizing expanded cooperation and strategic autonomy. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping's message was much more explicit. He stated that the international order has entered a "turning point of the century" and that South Korea must "make the right strategic choice on the right side of history." While his tone was soft, it was a clear demand to side with China. 

This was pressure not to touch upon China's core interests amidst the US-China competition, and in effect, a demand for subjugation. It was not mere diplomatic advice but rhetoric reminiscent of the Ming Dynasty emperors issuing edicts to neighboring rulers in the past. It was a domineering statement that compelled loyalty and conformity from a position of superiority. 

China, a historical perpetrator of repeated invasions, interference, and exploitation

Over the past millennium, Chinese dynasties and powers within the Chinese sphere of influence, from the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, to Qing dynasties, repeatedly invaded neighboring countries, demanded tribute, and interfered in their internal affairs. 

For China, a historical perpetrator of repeated invasions, interference, and exploitation on the Korean Peninsula, to speak of "the right side of history" is not a language of cooperation. It is linguistic absurdity that demands conformity and obedience to the contradictions of an history of invasion and tribute. It is a language of coercion and condescension demanding the restoration of past orders, and a blasphemous remark that directly clashes with international common sense. Does China, which has committed countless original sins, have the right to speak to us about "the right side of history"? 

Neighboring countries incorporated into the CCP's order were not stable partners; they were frequently invaded, manipulated by force, and treated as peripheral tributary states. The people incorporated into the CCP became slaves, subjected to organ harvesting. The CCP's expansion of influence by sea and land was not a history of co-prosperity and exchange, but a history of unilateral expansion, forced humiliation, and domination.

The CCP's invasion of Korea continued in a modern form through the Korean War. The CCP forces, with a total of 2.4 million personnel participating, committed innocent killings and prolonged the war. Subsequently, through North Korea, they have exerted continuous and malicious influence on the security of the Korean Peninsula. 

Unrestricted Warfare is the Tri-dimensionalization of the Battlefield... Indirect Violation and Invasion in Various Domains

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China, an invisible war, unrestricted warfare, has been waged. Instead of the military domain, it has pressured, violated, and invaded South Korea's strategic space in economic, financial, technological, maritime, and cyber domains. 

Since 2018, China has installed illegal structures and buoys in the median line of the West Sea, establishing de facto maritime jurisdiction. There have been instances where China prevented South Korean survey vessels from approaching. 

In the technological field, individuals linked to China have been caught attempting to steal semiconductor, battery, and defense technology and have been convicted.

In cyberspace, Chinese-origin hacking attacks targeting South Korean government and institutional bodies have been repeatedly confirmed, with ongoing infiltration attempts. 

China's infiltration through unrestricted warfare is a tri-dimensional war that transcends domains. 

China has left no "right history" for South Korea. The Chinese historical narrative that the Korean Peninsula was part of China is still a symptom of a mental illness trapped in a Sinocentric worldview, and it is political language intended to weaken the sovereignty of neighboring countries and force their choices. 

The History China Speaks Of… A Frame to Justify an Order Favorable to China

The "history" China speaks of is not an objective fact or a universal standard, but a kind of framework (frame) to justify an order favorable to China. The "history" they claim is irrelevant to international norms and the values of liberal democracy. It is merely a perverse demand to conform to China's interests and the Sinocentric order. 

Today, expressions used by China such as "victorious order," "defense of common history," and "side of history" are a repackaging of the past tributary order into modern diplomatic language. This language is not a proposal for cooperation, but an explicit demand to align with the CCP. Especially in a situation where US-China competition has expanded into technology, security, and supply chains, these expressions are effectively read as a message to refrain from cooperation with the US and ROK-US-Japan trilateral cooperation.

"Full Restoration of South Korea-China Relations" Means International Isolation and the Collapse of Security and Diplomacy

China is currently intensifying military pressure on Taiwan, and US-China competition has moved beyond tension management to confrontation. In such a situation, speaking of "full restoration of South Korea-China relations" means international isolation and the collapse of South Korea's security and diplomacy. 

China's historical discourse is a political tool, closer to a whip used to tame neighboring countries through trade. The "right side of history" that China speaks of is not a path of cooperation and co-prosperity, but a two-way hell of subjugation and ruin that countries in the Belt and Road Initiative have already experienced. 

We must now record China's maritime, technological, and cyber incursions based on facts and share them with the international community. We must redefine alliances and partnerships to expand our strategic space, strengthen core technologies and supply chains to protect our economic and technological sovereignty, and clearly articulate diplomatic language based on principles of norms and reciprocity. 

What South Korea should now follow is not the "right side of history" unilaterally dictated by China, but the "right direction of justice" that South Koreans themselves empathize with and which is based on liberal democracy as stipulated in the Constitution. 

For a nation that has experienced countless invasions to permit invasion under the guise of diplomacy is humiliating subservience. Public and military sentiment perceives anti-American and pro-China factions seeking to allow unlimited invasion by the CCP as forces of rebellion and foreign agents, and we resolve and urge to eradicate them with our own power, as they are enemies of future generations.

Editorial Board Member, Hankookilbo

◆ Park Phil-kyu, Member of the Editorial Board

Editorial Board Member, Hankookilbo

ROK Army Academy, Class of '40