[Guide to the Market Economy] The Universality in the Historical Essay *The Story of the Romans*

A Japanese Author’s “Roman Story” Achieves Global Success

“Books, films, and music are also in the age of globalization... markets are everywhere”

The Story of the Romans is a 15-volume historical essay series written as the life’s work of the Japanese female author Nanami Shiono. Beginning in 1992, roughly one volume was published each year, and the full series was completed in 2008. Whenever a new volume came out, it consistently ranked at the top of the history bestseller lists in both Korea and Japan.

A Roman Essay Written by a Japanese Author

In Korea, it is said that one key to the book’s success was that the translator revised the author’s distinctly Japanese writing style to make it more accessible to Korean readers. The Story of the Romans was so popular that it held onto the No. 1 library loan ranking for a long time at university libraries and elsewhere. It was especially popular among avid readers, and thanks to its enormous sales, the publishing company that released it made a fortune.

The Story of the Romans is often compared with Yi Munyol’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Just as Yi Munyol’s work sparked a Three Kingdoms boom in Korea, this series helped create a Roman history boom in both Korea and Japan. In a way, the fact that The Story of the Romans has been so controversial may itself be evidence of how deeply loved a bestseller it was. Some criticize it as a historical essay rather than a rigorous work of history, arguing that it reflects too much of the author’s subjective perspective. For that reason, some liken her books to Romance of the Three Kingdoms and call them a kind of “Romance of Roman History.” Still, it is true that her interpretation is so outstanding that one wonders whether there is any better book for helping modern readers understand Rome. It is also undeniable that it has become essential reading for those setting out on a journey to discover the roots of Western civilization.

In fact, The Story of the Romans is as global as Rome itself. Among the empires that have appeared in history, few have remained as powerfully influential to this day as Rome. Rome’s language, Latin, and the Roman law it created still provide an important foundation for understanding Western civilization. And there is hardly any need to mention Christianity, which was officially recognized by Constantine the Great and went on to become today’s global religion.

Hollywood Films Shot in Korea

Much of the credit for bringing the story of an empire from 2,000 years ago on the other side of the globe to ordinary readers in Japan and Korea in such rich detail belongs to Nanami Shiono herself. Even before she appeared, it was not as though there were no books on Roman history at all, such as Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. But no other book succeeded as well as hers in meeting the intellectual curiosity of East Asian readers at their own level. Many readers say that this book led them to take an interest not only in Rome but also in Western civilization as a whole. It became a world in which Korean readers read and became passionate about a book on ancient European history written by a Japanese author. Just as Rome was a world empire, The Story of the Romans is a global book.

In the age of globalization, projects like The Story of the Romans are in fact taking place all around us. In 2014, scenes for the Hollywood film Avengers: Age of Ultron were shot in various parts of Seoul. Hollywood producers crossed the Pacific to Korea in order to capture the image of modern Seoul in their film.

Of course, one reason for the location shoot was probably that Korea’s film market had grown too large for Hollywood to ignore, and that The Avengers, released in 2012, earned 60 billion won. But thanks to that, we gained a chance to showcase modern Korea through a film made by Americans and released around the world. Thanks to a Hollywood movie, we naturally obtained an opportunity to promote our country. It truly is an age of the global village.

BTS Reaches No. 1 in America

Globalization is not something abstract or grandiose. Global collaborative projects like Avengers: Age of Ultron are already taking place in Korea’s film industry as well. Hallyu, which has spread across East Asia for well over a decade, is now shining in the global market. Korean directors sometimes secure investment in Japan and cast Chinese actors to make so-called Korea-China-Japan co-productions. BTS even reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart in the United States. Even in the single book or film you are looking at right now, the benefits bestowed by globalization are richly embedded. Isn’t it truly a wonderful world?

◆ Please remember

BTS even reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart in the United States. Even in the single book or film you are looking at right now, the benefits bestowed by globalization are richly embedded. Isn’t it truly a wonderful world?

Sung-no Choi, President of the Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: [시장경제 길라잡이] 역사 에세이 『로마인 이야기』에 담긴 세계성

Author: Sung-no Choi

Date: 2019-09-23

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=column&pn=12&idx=21907