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In our generally positive assessment of President Park's visit to the US, I noted one small storm cloud on the domestic horizon in which the US actually has a strong interest: a proposal by the administration to renationalize textbooks in Korea. This is an issue of surprising complexity. Textbook selection is relatively decentralized, with a general approval process through the Ministry of Education. But teachers—and typically senior teachers—play a role in adoption at the level of the middle or high school. This means that textbook choice—again, within the parameters of general approval—is vulnerable to personal preferences and the advertising of the publishers. However, textbooks are hardly the only parameter affecting what reaches the student: teachers are well aware that exams loom large over the entire educational process and preparing students for the test is more important than the content of textbooks.
Nonetheless, the ruling party—and apparently the President—feels that too much pro-North Korean propaganda is sneaking through and it is therefore time to nationalize the process; Dong-A outlines how this will go. The national history textbooks will be published by the National Institute of Korean History (NIKH) but they will need to commission the work. This just pushes off another phase of political controversy as it is decided exactly what the guidelines are and which scholars will be responsible for the work.
But is this a problem that needs fixing? It would take serious textual analysis to figure out whether the existing textbooks exhibit bias and in which direction; short of this, claims to the effect that they are biased are just claims. Indeed, current textbooks could be skewed to the right for all we know. A very nice piece of journalism by Ha-young Choi at NKNews casts some pretty serious doubt—if anecdotal—on whether there is a problem in the first place. Some of the examples believed to be problematic are simply citing facts about South and North Korea, if uncomfortable ones (such as the fact that Syngman Rhee opposed the misbegotten trusteeship idea and thus recognized that the peninsula was going to initially be divided).
It is noteworthy for this blog that defector organizations have gotten into the mix, siding with the President.
Let's be blunt: this is a really bad idea that fundamentally misunderstands the social and contested nature of history and of historical research. It also raises important issues of freedom of speech in Korea, on which I have also written with Jong-sung You. And perhaps most important for the US, it will potentially draw South Korean more deeply into the history wars from which the region needs to extricate itself.
Eugene Y. Park, Korea Foundation Associate Professor of History and Director of the James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, has orchestrated a letter from scholars outside Korea—both Korean and not--that makes these points quite eloquently; at last count it had over 170 signatories with the number rising rapidly. In the spirit of earlier letters of this sort (here and here), it is published here in English and Korean in support of those who advocate for public and professional dialogue and debate over these issues over the mistaken belief that the government is going to get history right. (For more information on the letter, contact Eugene Y. Park at [email protected].)
Statement in Support of Korean Historians' Protest against Planned Renationalization of History Textbooks
We, the undersigned, issue this statement to express our concern at the plan of the government of the Republic of Korea (“Korea” hereafter) to replace current Korean history textbooks with government-issued ones. As overseas university and college professors who conduct research and teach in fields related to Korean history, we cannot stress strongly enough that a democratic country should allow national history textbooks produced by a free and open debate, which acknowledge a diversity of ideas and interpretations, and are informed by the research of professional historians. The current plan to replace Korean history textbooks continues government policies in recent years that have witnessed a retreat away from the principles of free speech and academic freedom. The past cannot be undone, but history is permanently changing as new questions are asked. History is not an exact science, but the aggregate of insights produced by professional historians. Imposing a single interpretation does not create 'correct' history, only the methodologically proper execution of historical research does. Just as a democratic society accepts differences of opinion, so too should history education reflect the multiplicity of historical experiences. In a democratic society, history should not be partisan but inclusive and respectful of all the constituent parts of society. Introducing students to various perspectives on Korean history teaches them the complexity of the past and sharpens their critical awareness so as to make them responsible citizens of the Republic of Korea.
We, the undersigned, wish to emphasize that the legitimacy of the
Republic of Korea and its stature as a major player in the global political economy are self-evident to Koreans and to outside observers alike. The government’s plan to mandate its own Korean history textbooks not only tarnishes Korea's international standing as a democratic country, it also weakens Korea’s moral standing in the regional dispute over Japanese government historical revisionism.
We, the undersigned professors of Korean Studies at universities and colleges overseas, urge the Korean government to refrain from dictating the content of history textbooks and to work to depoliticize history education by promoting tolerance towards a multiplicity of views. By extension, we also would hope that the Korean government continues to respect academic freedom and thus refrain from interfering in the process of knowledge production and propagation by Korean Studies professors, both in and outside Korea. Many outside Korea are monitoring
the ongoing textbook controversy, and it is our sincerest hope that the Korean government will act in a way befitting Korea’s global stature in the twenty-first century.
한국 역사학자들의 역사교과서 국정화 반대를 지지하는 성명서
우리는 대한민국(이하 한국) 정부의 역사교과서 국정화 계획을 우려하며 이 성명서를 발표합니다. 우리는 해외 대학에서 한국사 관련 연구와 강의를 하고 있는 교수들입니다. 우리는 민주주의 국가에서의 역사교과서는 다양한 의견과 분석을 존중하고, 자유로운 토론과 전문 역사학자들의 연구를 바탕으로 만들어져야 한다고 믿습니다. 현재 진행되고 있는 한국정부의 국정화 계획은 지난 몇년 간 자유로운 발언의 기회와 학문공동체의 자유를 억압해 온 정부 정책들의 연장선상에 있다고 봅니다. 과거는 결코 돌이킬 수 없습니다. 그러나 역사 서술은 새로운 질문들이 제기되면서 계속 변화해 갑니다. 역사는 정밀한 과학과 다릅니다. 역사는 전문 역사학자들의 다양한 통찰력을 바탕으로 한 것입니다. 역사에 단일한 해석을 적용해서 ‘올바른’ 역사를 만들 수는 없습니다.
민주주의에 기반한 사회에서 역사는 특정 소수의 입장만 반영하는 것이 아니라 사회의 다양한 구성원들의 경험을 포괄해야만 합니다. 한국사에 대한 다양한 시각을 학생들에게 소개함으로써, 학생들은 과거의 역사가 결코 단순하지않다는 것을 배울 수 있고 비판적으로 사고할 수 있는 능력을 키워 궁극적으로 소신있는 한국의 시민으로 성장할 수 있습니다.
우리는 한국의 역사적 정통성과 함께 세계 정치경제에서 주요한 역할을 하고 있는 한국의 위상이 한국인은 물론 해외에 있는 관찰자들에게도 자명하다는 것을 강조하고자 합니다. 정부의 국정교과서 계획은 민주국가로서 인정받은 한국의 국제적 명성에 악영향을 미칠 것입니다. 또한 그것은 일본 정부의 역사 수정주의를 둘러싼 지역 내부의 분쟁에서 한국의 도덕적 기반을 약화시킬 것입니다.
해외 대학의 한국학 교수들인 우리 서명자들은 한국정부가 역사교과서의 내용을 전유하는 것을 그만 두고, 다양한 견해들을 포용할 수 있는 방향으로 나아가 역사교육의 탈정치화에 힘써주기를 촉구합니다. 또한, 우리는 한국정부가 학문공동체의 자유를 존중하고 국내외의 한국학 교수들의 지식생산과 보급에 개입하지 않기를 바랍니다. 한국 바깥에서 많은 사람들이 현재 국정교과서 논쟁을 지켜보고 있습니다. 우리는 한국정부가 21세기 세계 속의 한국의 위상에 걸맞는 방식으로 이 문제를 해결하기를 간곡히 바랍니다.
