Northeast Project (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

[11] The "Second Academic Conference on the History and Current State of the Northeast and on Goguryeo" (第二届东北边疆历史与现状暨高句丽学术研讨会) was held in Changchun in July 2002, organized by the "Research Center for Chinese Borderland History and Geography" (中国边疆史地研究中心; part of the CASS) and the Jilin Academy of Social Sciences, and supported by ten more academic institutions from the Northeast Chinese provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning.

[16] In 2002, the PRC government took the North Korea delegation leader's challenge and initiated the Northeast Project.

[citation needed] The Northeast Project consists of research on historical kingdoms, polities and ethnicities in this area, and also modern issues such as territorial disputes and immigration.

Modern historical and contemporary states covered by the Northeast Project are the Empire of Japan, the Soviet Union, South and North Korea and the PRC.

Research in the Northeast Project has claimed Gojoseon, Bueyo, Goguryeo and Balhae as regional governments of the ancient Chinese empire.

The Northeast Project's claims on ancient kingdoms that most Koreans consider as part of their own history began to receive wide press coverage in South Korea in 2004, which led to public outrage.

The Northeast Project has also received strong criticism from academic experts from South Korea and many other countries[20][21] including China itself.

[22] Controversy mainly focused on Goguryeo, which continues to play a central role in Korean nationalism.

[23] The Northeast Project's appropriation of Goguryeo has become a turning point in public perception of China in South Korea and also affected strategic and diplomatic relations between the two countries.