Qing-Chosōn Relations and the Contemporary Koguryō/Gaogouli “History War”

Much of the popular discourse about the dispute between Korea and China over the ancient kingdom of Koguryō/Gaogouli appears to assume an essential and fixed nature of the ancient kingdom about which the two sides differ primarily over which contemporary national label is most applicable. It is perhaps more accurate to conclude that the perceptions of both Koreans and Chinese have changed, often dramatically, over time. This paper explores the ways in which the understanding of the Koguryō/Gaogouli Kingdom and the territory it occupied was influenced by the Qing Empire, the Chosōn Korean kingdom and the relations between the two.