Twentieth Century
Following the decline of China's prestige and the rise of Korean nationalism in the early twentieth century, Korean intellectuals no longer took pride in their association with the Chinese Gija, and thus started to doubt the authenticity of his traditional story. Shin Chaeho (1880–1936) was the first to question the extent of Gija's contributions. In an essay titled Doksa Sillon ("New Reading of History"; 1908), he argued that Korean history was the history of the Korean minjok, a race-nation descended from Dangun, the mythical founder of the state of Gojoseon. Gija, a foreigner, did not belong in Shin's racially defined view of Korean history. Shin argued instead that Gija had become a vassal of the Kings of Buyeo and was only given control of a small territory.
Going further than Shin, Choe Nam-seon (1890–1957) and Lee Byeong-do (1896–1989) started to notice discrepancies between pre-Qin Chinese records of Jizi/Gija, and later accounts (both Chinese and Korean) of his role in Joseon. In 1973, archeologist Kim Cheong-bae (金貞培) denied Chinese influence on Korea because no ancient Chinese bronzes had been found on the peninsula.
After the end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945, nationalist historians in both North and South Korea targeted Gija. Ri Chirin, a leading North Korean historian of ancient Korea, argued that the Gija legend had been forged in Han times when the Chinese started to occupy part of Joseon. Most North Korean scholars have followed Ri in doubting the authenticity of Gija's migration to Joseon.
In South Korea, whether Gija and his state actually existed is a matter of controversy. Korean scholars deny its existence for various reasons. These scholars point to the Bamboo Annals and the Confucian Analects, which were among the first works to mention Gija, but do not mention his migration to Gojoseon. Detractors of the Gija Joseon theory also point out that the cultural artifacts found in the region do not appear to have Chinese origins. An example of such an artifact is found in a Gojoseon mandolin-shaped bronze dagger. Its shape and bronze composition are different from similar artifacts found in China.
The national-history textbook of high school education drove Gija's description out of the main text and he was marginally mentioned in a note. The textbook of the latest 7th Curriculum completely eliminates Gija.
On the contrary, some South Korean historians believes that Gija Joseon coexisted with Dangun, and Gija Joseon was established at the west end of Gojoseon.
Read more about this topic: Jizi, Interpretations of Gija in Korea
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