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China and the Two Koreas Clash Over Mount Paekdu/Changbai: Memory Wars Threaten Regional Accommodation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Yonson Ahn
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Mount Paekdu (Korean), meaning “White-Topped Mountain”, or Changbai (Chinese), meaning “Forever White Mountain” straddles the border between North Korea and China. It has long flared as a hot spot in claiming national history, identity and territory involving China, Korea and earlier kingdoms in the region. It has also emerged as a source of contention between China and the two Koreas, North and South. China has recently moved aggressively to develop the Changbai area in Jilin Province on the Chinese side of the border. Plans include economic and infrastructural development including the Mt. Changbai Airport and the Mt. Changbai Eastern Railroad, both under construction. The railroad is a key to linking China's largest nature preserve to Changchun and to the promotion of domestic and international tourism. China has also filed a claim to make the mountain a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is even momentum behind a Chinese proposal to hold the Winter Olympic Games there in 2018. In addition, Chinese actions like the torch-lighting ceremony for the 2007 Asian Winter Games atop Mt. Changbai, the naming of schools after the mountain, and military operations in the area have exacerbated tensions between China and the two Koreas. The Asia Winter Games' official song includes a paean to Changbai. The pressroom for the Games at Changchun in February 2007 provided pamphlets on Changbai Mount. All these activities lay foundations for claims that the landmark is Chinese.

Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 5 , Issue 7 , July 2007 , e23
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Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2007

References

Notes

(1) Department of Commerce of Jilin Province Homepage, “Round Changbai Mountain Tourist Highway”. Xinhua News Agency, September 10, 2005, “Construction starts with new railway connecting to Mount Changbai”.

(2) Donga Ilbo, July 31, 2006, “China Seeks U.N. Title to Mt. Baekdu”.

(3) Joong Ang Ilbo, January 29, 2007, “With the World Watching, China Claims Paekdu”.

(4) Donga Ilbo, July 31, 2006, “China Seeks U.N. Title to Mt. Baekdu”.

(5) China Daily, July 25, 2006, “Ecological Protection Plans Mapped Out”.

(6) Outi Luova (2007), “Mobilizing Transnational Korean Linkages for Economic Development on China's Frontier”, Japan Focus, March 29, 2007.

(7) People's Daily, May 25, 2005, “ROK becomes 2nd largest overseas tourists source of China”.

(8) “Changbai Mountain - One of the Ten Famous Mountains in China”, Department of Commerce of Jilin Province Homepage; CCTV (China Central Television), May, 2, 2004, “Yanbian”.

(9) The Hankyoreh, December 24, 2006, “N. Korean Diplomat Requests China to Withdraw Order to Remove Hotel From Mount Paekdu”.

(10) Sebastien Colin, “The two Koreas and the Tumen Area Development Programme: Actors, Contacts and Current Plans”, paper presented at the AKSE (Association for Korean Studies in Europe) 30th Anniversary Conference, April 16-20, 2007, Dourdan France.

(11) See this and this.

(12) “Changbai Mountain - One of the Ten Famous Mountains in China”, Department of Commerce of Jilin Province Homepage; CCTV (China Central Television), May, 2, 2004, “Yanbian”.

(13) Segye Ilbo, September 13, 2006, “Mount Paekdu as the Origin of Manchu is Chinese Territory”.

(14) KBS Special, broadcast December 3, 2006, “Mount Peakdu Project”.

(15) Donga Ilbo, October 26, 2006, “Highway Could Isolate Mt. Baekdu”.

(16) Donga Ilbo, September 4, 2006, “China's ‘Mount Paekdu Project’ – History and Culture Distortion Has Become Conspicuous”.

(17) Chosun Ilbo, February 27, 2007, “Our Dispute With China Isn't About Ancient History”;

Yonhap News, February 4, 2007, “Chinese Netizens Counterattack Against ‘Mount Paekdu Ceremony’ With a Parody”.

(18) For more information about the incident, see The Korea Times, February 2, 2007, “Seoul Cautious Over Rift With China”; Chosun Ilbo, February 2, 2007, “China Upset with ‘Baekdu Mountain’ Skaters”,;

Yonhap News, February 2, 2007, “Seoul Asks Beijing to Respond in Composed Manner to Dispute Over Mount Paektu”.

(19) Donga Ilbo, July 31, 2006, “China Seeks U.N. Title to Mt. Baekdu”; Donga Ilbo, September 4, 2006, “China's ‘Mount Paekdu Project’ – History and Culture Distortion Has Become Conspicuous”.

(20) The “Northeast Project” is officially called the “Serial Research Project on the History and Current Status of the Northeast Border Region”. The Korea Times, September 15, 2006, “China's Ambition Over Mt. Paektu Angers Koreans”.

(21) The Hankyoreh, February 24, 2007, “Revised High School Texts Fuel Controversy”; Chosun Ilbo, February 27, 2007, “Our Dispute With China Isn't About Ancient History”.

(22) The Korea Times, August 1, 2006, “Mt. Paekdu Project' Koreas Should Unite to Keep Sacred Mountain”.

(23) The Korea Times, September 15, 2006, “China's Ambition Over Mt. Paektu Angers Koreans”.

(24) Another dispute involves one of most sensitive territorial disputes over Tokdo (in Korean) /Takeshima (in Japanese), a small island in the East Sea or the Sea of Japan that is administered by South Korea but claimed by Japan. Both, Tokdo and Paekdu, are deemed to be an integral part of Korea's national territory, but Paekdu as a sacred mountain of the nation has greater historical significance.

(25) The Economist, March 29, 2007, “History Wars”.

(26) Radio Free Asia, March 20, 2006, “North Korean Media See Heaven's Blessing on Leaders, Defector Says”.

(27) Jon Cannon, “In North Korea”, London Review of Books, Vol.22, No.15.

(28) KBS Global, December 30, 2006, “2 Million Visit Baekdu War Venue in 2006”.

(29) KBS Global, July 18, 2005, “Government Aid for Baekdu Tour to Raise Dispute”; KBS Global, August 29, 2005, “Tour for Mt. Baekdu Expected at End of September”; Donga Ilbo, August 3, 2005, “5 Billion Won Materials Supported to Construct Roads for Mount Paekdu Tourism”.