Kim Soyeon / Division of Business Administration ’12
When we think of the answer according to the question “Should historical contents reflect historical fact?,” we should point out first what is the history. History is a set of the events of the past, especially events which are important. However, these events are interpreted by historians so descendants cannot look at the events as they were. Because of this characteristic, history can be interpreted differently according to the values that historians have. Cultural contents are created by artists and they are created following values and beliefs that the artists have. Even though these contents are based on historical facts, it doesn’t mean that it should reflect historical fact. Art content itself cannot but include some fiction. However, if artists should give up the things which can bring out interests of people because artists should not distort the fact, it is same as invading the freedom of creation. There are no people who disagree that expressions which are out-of-the-box thinking became a driving force of development in the 21st century. So there is no need to make the plot which can be easily predicted by viewers because it is composed of real historical fact which didn’t include any kind of fiction. Some people can say that the things that I said above can make people cloud their historical consciousness. However, I want to be clear that I disagree about history distortion. People should be aware that the things in historical contents are not always facts. People who are aware of history have the ability to judge without any help. But people who are not aware of history cannot recognize well whether the content implies historical events well. If the objectivity of history itself is hard to secure, isn’t it obstinate to demand that historical contents should reflect historical fact? In my opinion, it is inevitable to have contradictions between created facts and actual facts.
Seo Jaehee / Depertment of Global Cooperation ’12
Beginning from the movie The King and the Clown, many historical contents have done consistently well. It comes from interests of the nation. As the interest in historical contents is rising, the contents should be based on historical fact. Because historical dramas are lighter than historical facts, and play for the sake of arousing the interest, they can secure wide audiences. Among the viewers, there are people who have no common sense about history. So the contents which include historical facts should be based on the fact. If the person who watches the historical drama didn’t reach the level that can recognize whether it is a fact or fiction, he or she can believe that the contents in that drama are real. Every person uses the Internet now, and through the Internet they share what they know very fast. However, the historical fact from historical contents also can be known as a fact to some people who do not have abundant knowledge of history. Then, when they may even share things from historical contents as real facts. Because it is impossible to filter the number of people who read that post, people who produce historical contents should provide contents that reflect fact. Of course some kinds of fiction should be added to show what the producer wants to say well. Also, to make the quality of a drama higher, stories and people which are not real should be added. When the dramas reflect the historical fact 100%, the meaning of creating new contents might be gone. So to save the historical contents well, it is important to be based on the historical fact in historical contents.
