2011 Theses Bachelor's

Tiberius Gracchus to the East: A Study of Korean Historiography of Tiberius Gracchus' Agrarian Reform from the '70s to the '90s

Hyeon Ah Joh, Danielle

"In the West, Greco-Roman studies are commonly called classical studies, but not in the East. Europeans, the heirs to Greco-Roman civilization, affixed the modifier “classical” in admiration for their mother culture, but Asians equally had their own version of classical literature, art, philosophy, and history. Nevertheless, Greco-Roman studies attracted Asians in the Far East who live farthest from Greco-Roman influence and who inherited neither its linguistic nor cultural legacy. It entered Asia in the 19th century.

When Europeans and Americans intruded into Asia in the 19th century, they brought not only the Bible and opium but also their pedagogy. Seeing that European/American education begins from Greco-Roman studies, Asian intellectuals who tried to learn from Europeans and adopt their culture developed interests in these studies as well. To avoid confusion with their own classical studies, they preferred the name Greco-Roman studies, which I shall use as well for the same reason.

Among Greco-Roman studies in East Asia, this thesis will focus on South Korean studies of Roman history, particularly of Tiberius Gracchus’ agrarian reform. Yet, before we arrive at the moment when Korean scholars took up this topic, let us briefly browse Korean historiography of Roman history."