Researcher Bio
Byung-Joon Kim is a scholar of East Asian ancient history, predominantly in the ancient history of China. His expertise and research are not restricted to a specific ancient country, but look into the entire ancient history of East Asia. He approaches East Asia as a historical community but at the same time looks into the political and social events and culture that of each region from a macro perspective. First, he has paid attention to the governance structure of the Qin Empire, which played a central role in the ancient political culture of East Asia. As part of this research, trends in terms of regional background under a specific military rule which constituted the political framework of that rule and its characteristics were studied. Second, he has been conducting research on the relationship between the Qin Empire and its surrounding powers and its trends. By noting the existence of foreign communities within the border, the control methods and the relationship between countries that existed outside the empire were examined respectively. in terms of their region. Third, his research suggests ways in which to understand the whole of East Asia from the perspective of neighbors rather than the empire. Fourth, he is conducting research on how the surrounding regions became influenced by the cultures of the empires.
Key Publications
2013, Lelang Commandery and Han China’s Commadery-Based Rule, The Han Commanderies in Early Korean History (ed. M. Byington ed.), pp. 249-284, Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press
2011, Trade and Tribute along the Silk Road beforethe Third Century A.D, Journal of Central Eurasian Studies 2: 1-24