On Oct. 30, 2008, the South Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology demanded that the authors of six textbooks currently used in South Korean high schools delete or revise 55 sections in their texts that the Ministry claimed, “undermine the legitimacy of the South Korean government.” South Korea formerly used a single government-issued textbook to teach its high school students a modern history of Korea, but in 2003 the government approved six privately published history textbooks for high school use. These textbooks have drawn heavy criticism from South Korean conservatives, and with last year’s presidential election of conservative Lee Myung Bak they are now seeking to influence the content of the textbooks.
In response, the Organization of Korean Historians (Han’guk yOksa yOn’guhoe) and 38 other academic associations/groups drafted a statement of opposition to the South Korean Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology’s plan to revise Korean history textbooks. Approximately 550 South Korean academics and 112 scholars outside of South Korea signed the statement in opposition to the South Korean government’s attempts to impose a single historical interpretation into South Korean textbooks. The Korean-language and English-language statements along with the complete list of signatories can be found here. (Over 400 graduate students of Korea Studies at more than 20 universities in South Korea and approximately 40 graduate students from 16 universities based in Europe and North America have signed on to a separate, related statement.)
One of the signatories to the statement of opposition is Bruce Cumings, an Advisory Board Member of the Korea Policy Institute. Professor Cumings is the Chair of the History Department at the University of Chicago. Given that this controversy is at the nexus of history, scholarship, and government interference, we note that his first book, The Origins of the Korean War, won the John King Fairbank Book Award of the American Historical Association, and the second volume of this study won the Quincy Wright Book Award of the International Studies Association....
Professor Cumings was asked by South Korean newspapers to speak to the recent efforts of the Lee Administration to impose a single version of Korean history into South Korea’s textbooks. His responses to questions from a reporter with the Donga Ilbo are below.
To conservative critics, a popular textbook’s version of how U.S. and Soviet forces took control of Korea from Japanese colonialists in 1945 exemplifies all that’s wrong with how South Korean history is taught to young people today.
The facts no one disputes are that, at the end of World War II, the Soviet military swept into northern Korea and installed a friendly Communist government while a U.S. military administration assumed control in the south.
But then the high school textbook takes a direction that is raising hackles among conservatives. It argues that the Japanese occupation was followed not by a free, self-determining Korea, but by a divided peninsula dominated once again by foreign powers.
“It was not our national flag that was hoisted to replace the Japanese flag,” reads the textbook published by Kumsung Publishing. “The flag that flew in its place was the American Stars and Stripes. Our liberation through the Allied forces’ victory prevented us from building a new country according to our own wishes.”
The critics include the government of President Lee Myung Bak, the conservative who came to power this year with a pledge to overturn a decade of liberal policies that Lee said coddled North Korea and denigrated the U.S. alliance - the alliance that liberals, for their part, accused of propping up South Korean dictators in the name of anti-Communism.
On Oct. 30, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology demanded that the authors of the Kumsung book and five other textbooks currently used in high schools delete or revise 55 sections in their texts that it said “undermine the legitimacy of the South Korean government.”
DEEP 2008 Report Back in San Francisco, “TWO WEEKS IN NORTH KOREA” NOV 19 & 20
North Korea through the Eyes of Korean Americans
Four Bay Area Korean Americans and zainichi (ethnic Korean residents of Japan) will speak at two local venues about their participation in a peace delegation to North Korea this past July. Scheduled for Wednesday, November 19, at the Eastside Arts Alliance in Oakland and Thursday, November 20, at UC Berkeley, these report-backs will provide the members of the delegation with an occasion to share their experiences in North Korea with the public. “I strongly believe their insights will prove to be crucial in the direct diplomacy era of the Obama administration, particularly following the removal of North Korea from the U.S. terrorism blacklist,” stated Christine Ahn, a coordinator of the delegation.
Through the New York-based DPRK Education and Exposure Program (DEEP), eleven Korean Americans, Korean Canadians, and zainichi traveled and studied in North Korea for two weeks in early July. Included in this eleven-person delegation were several grassroots peace activists, two NGO directors, a documentary filmmaker, a lawyer, an art teacher, an academic researcher, and university and medical school students. Prior to their departure, the delegation launched a successful fundraising drive to raise money for essential medical supplies for North Korea.
This summer two members of Sahngnoksoo participated in a program called the Korea Education and Exposure Program (KEEP). Neither of us had experienced the social justice movement culture in Korea and were excited to have a glimpse at it.
Now that we’re back, we want to share the many things we learned. Show you the images of riot police spraying protesters with blue dye in order to identify and arrest them later. Talk about militarism and frame S. Korea as a nation under the thumb of American neoliberalism but also as a nation importing women into militarized prostitution. We want to explore the complex situation in S. Korea and tie it back to the work we’re doing locally. We hope that you’ll join us to learn more and to continue building strength in our alliances and work together.
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Host: Sahngnoksoo
Date: Saturday, November 22, 2008 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Place: 2100 24th Ave Seattle, WA
Email:
RSVP: http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=43466567441&ref=nf
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WINTER INTERIM SESSION : 12/01 – 12/22 [4 weeks only]
Mondays 6:30-8:30 pm
*In response to high interest by current beginner level students, Nodutdol will be having this special winter interim session. The fee for the interim session is $120 with possible discount for NDD members and low-income people. The class will be a continuation from the fall session therefore some basic knowledge of Korean language [Korean alphabet, basic greetings, numbers, etc.] is required to take the class.
TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE 2009 1st session: 01/12 - 03/30 INTERMEDIATE & 01/13 - 03/17 BEGINNER II
2nd session: 04/13 - 06/22 INTERMEDIATE & 04/07 - 06/09 BEGINNER III
3rd session: 09/14 - 11/23 INTERMEDIATE & 09/15 - 11/17 BEGINNER I
*If you are interested, please plan ahead and let us know so that we can save a spot for you.
To enroll in our classes, please email us at
For more information, see korean class page under programs link. Please spread the word!
EXPERIENCES TO KEEP 2008 - TORONTO, ON on NOVEMBER 8TH!!!!
-A night of poetry and sharing of life-altering experiences-
This past summer 8 women from across North America embarked on a journey to South Korea to explore the spirit of social justice movements on the peninsula through the Korean Education and Exposure Program (KEEP).
Participants met with a wide range of activists including: Women mobilizing against U.S. imperialism, U.S. base presence and camptown sex work, queer activists, irregular workers, migrant workers, farmers and many more. What they found at the core were life changing experiences, inspiring exchanges of laughter and tears, and incredible growth.
Join us on November 8th as three of these women share their experiences, their poetry and spirits at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore for ‘Experiences to KEEP’. Event is hosted by Jindap, a korean-canadian non-profit community organization. For more info: http://www.jindap.com
Light refreshments will be provided!
-A night of poetry and sharing of life-altering experiences-
This past summer 8 women from across North America embarked on a journey to South Korea to explore the spirit of social justice movements on the peninsula through the Korean Education and Exposure Program (KEEP).
Participants met with a wide range of activists including: Women mobilizing against U.S. imperialism, U.S. base presence and camptown sex work, queer activists, irregular workers, migrant workers, farmers and many more. What they found at the core were life changing experiences, inspiring exchanges of laughter and tears, and incredible growth.
Join us on November 8th as three of these women share their experiences, their poetry and spirits at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore for ‘Experiences to KEEP’. Event is hosted by Jindap, a korean-canadian non-profit community organization. For more info: http://www.jindap.com
Light refreshments will be provided!
TIME AND PLACE: Saturday, November 8, 2008 7:00pm - 10:00pm
LOCATION: Toronto Women’s Book Store
ADDRESS: 73 Harbord Street Toronto, ON
CONTACT: 6472625836
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