The chronology of ancient Korean history showcased at the National Museum of China does not include any content about Goguryeo and Balhae kingdoms. Captured from Weibo

By Dong Sun-hwa

China's state-run museum has been accused of distorting Korean history by excluding information about two ancient kingdoms ― Goguryeo (37 B.C.-A.D. 668) and Balhae (A.D. 698-926) ― from its chronology of ancient Korean history.

The controversial chronology at the National Museum of China was showcased at the "Auspicious Metals from the Orient: Ancient Bronzes of China, Korea and Japan" exhibition, which premiered on July 26 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Korea-China ties and the 50th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations. The exhibition was held jointly with the National Museum of Korea and the Tokyo National Museum.

The chronology only included information about kingdoms like Baekje (18 B.C.-660 A.D.) and Silla (57 B.C.-935 A.D.) which were located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, while omitting Goguryeo and Balhae, whose main territories belonged to the current North Korea and some parts of Manchuria, the current Chinese territory.

This is raising speculation that Beijing is reactivating its "Northeast Project" that was launched by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2002.

Beijing claims the project intends to "restore historical facts" about its northeast region, but numerous scholars and experts believe its ultimate goal is to distort world history in its favor. Although Goguryeo and Balhae were sovereign kingdoms, China has been insisting that they were the local governments of its Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The "Auspicious Metals from the Orient: Ancient Bronzes of China, Korea, and Japan" exhibition has been taking place since July at the National Museum of China in Beijing. Captured from the official website of the National Museum of China

The National Museum of China ― the largest museum in the country with a permanent collection of more than 1 million objects ― stated that the chronology was provided by the National Museum of Korea. But the latter denied this, saying its original chronology did include content about Goguryeo and Balhae.

"The National Museum of China arbitrarily edited the chronology we provided, so we asked for an apology and a correction," the Korean museum said in a release, Tuesday. "It is an international practice to faithfully reflect the data provided by other organizations when holding an exhibition. But what China did this time was an act undermining trust (between Seoul and Beijing)."

An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Korea said the government will "take necessary action."

"Historical issues are tied to our national identity, so the Korean government has been responding firmly to all distortions of history based on fact-checking," he added.

However, regarding the ongoing dispute, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a regular briefing on Tuesday, "The Goguryeo issue is an academic issue. Views regarding academic issues can be shared and discussed in a professional way in the academic sphere. There is no need to hype it up politically."