This is Bill Tsutsui with another Postcard from Asia from the Center for East Asian Studies.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il met in Pyongyang in October. Was it a coincidence that this summit that marked the second time the leaders of these two countries had met since the Korean War occurred on National Foundation Day? Hard to say but it must have pleased Tangun who founded Korea 4,340 years ago. Tangun is believed to be the son of a god and a woman transformed from a bear and is said to have established his kingdom at Pyongyang. It must also have pleased North Korea’s Council for the Reunification of Tangun’s Nation, which promotes Tangun as the ancestral father of a “homogeneous nation with one and the same blood, language, culture and history.” In other words: “Tangunity.”

With thanks to Marsha Haufler for this text, from the Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Bill Tsutsui. Wish you were here.