[W Forum] History Learned Through Bicycles

Baekjesung? Why is the Baekjesung of Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje here in Fukuoka? It was a sign I happened to discover while renting and riding a bicycle in Japan. My curiosity intensified at the Suseong archaeological site. It is an earthen fortress built using waterways for defense, and it was made by the Baekje people.

My curiosity was resolved through Professor Yu Hong-jun's book. We only know about Gyebaek's Battle of Hwangsanbeol, but in fact, a world war at the time took place at the Geum River estuary. Baekje and Wa allied with about 800 warships to create a situation similar to the Normandy landings, but they were decisively defeated by the allied forces of Silla and Tang and fled to Fukuoka. The Baekje people and the Wa built a Baekje-style defensive military base here to prepare for the pursuit and invasion by the Silla-Tang allied forces. Since discovering traces of the Baekje people on Japanese soil by chance, my travels in Japan have transformed into a pursuit of our ancestors' culture, changing the way I travel.

Instead of enjoying shopping and visiting popular restaurants and hot spring tourist spots mostly frequented by Chinese and Korean tourists, I found myself renting bicycles at train stations or information centers and seeking out historical sites to feel the culture of our ancestors.

At Yoshinogari, a Bronze Age archaeological site, I was overwhelmed by its scale and amazed, but the thought that the protagonists were our ancestors who brought agricultural culture from the Korean Peninsula and ruled as the Japanese ruling class, forming the main Japanese people of today, gave me goosebumps. Recalling the theory of Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, my bicycle history tour in Japan accelerated. When I understood why the southern indigenous people ended up living in the cold Hokkaido area, my mind felt as refreshing as being at the beach.

In Nara Prefecture, famous for its deer, I rode my bicycle around the archaeological sites until dark and was swept along with the crowd toward Todai-ji (Great Eastern Temple). Once a year, the giant Buddha statue is washed with water and lit up at midnight so people can see the Great Buddha. Seeing the glowing Great Buddha under the black sky gave me chills. The grandeur and awe that ancient people must have felt. At the place where the framework of the ancient state was laid from Wa (倭) to Japan, I felt the power of Buddhism and the ability of our ancestors. While cycling around a university campus in Kyoto, I unexpectedly found the Yun Dong-ju poetry monument and stood there for a long time with a heavy heart.

Since I am not good at golf, I ride a bicycle. The more I ride, the more I learn history in Japan and patriotism at home. Every time I see the beautiful Geum River’s fantastic bike path, the pine forests of Gangneung, the lakeside of Chuncheon, the 100-ri oxygen road of Hwacheon, and the sunset over the Nakdong River, my selfishness gradually disappears and is replaced by a love for the land.

On the beautiful bamboo path in Damyang, seeing a small bird’s beak holding a moth as food, I realized something! (Why we should not eliminate all mosquitoes to eradicate malaria...) Also, smelling the terrible stench of green algae-polluted rivers made me understand the importance of the environment. Inside the stone walls called Bultuk, built by Jeju haenyeo to block the cold sea wind, and while struggling up the difficult hills of Ihwaryeong, I learned the importance of living together thanks to the help of others.

I am learning things that books cannot teach through sweat and cycling. Before it’s too late, I want to tour the northern lands by bicycle and gain new insights. I want to find traces of independence fighters who had to confront Japanese imperialism in the endlessly shameful modern history, contrasting with our proud ancient history. Not inside a warm car, but cycling fiercely in the biting cold wind, with my nose and fingertips freezing.

Seo Jae-yeon, Executive Director, Mirae Asset Daewoo Galleria WM