South Korea's Ministry of Education has announced that history textbooks in schools will be published by the government and all schools will have to use them. The current textbooks are published by the private sector. The Korean history textbook controversy is a very important topic.
The main point is a political argument. The Park Geun-hye government says Korean history textbooks are left wing. Therefore, the government argues they need to create balanced history textbooks. In the past, the national history textbooks idealized the dictatorships of Park Chung-hee, Chun Doo-hwan, and Roh Tae-woo and were criticized by the public. However, since 2004, Korean history textbooks have been published by the private sector.
The side in favor of national history textbooks argues the current Korean history textbooks have a leftist political bias. They argue a national history textbook is the only way to teach a balanced view of history. The ruling party is in favor of the national history textbook. They say leftist and progressive forces have instilled a negative view of Korean history through the current textbooks. Therefore, national history textbooks are needed.
Conversely, the opposition says national history textbooks are a rollback of democracy and deny academic freedom. They claim national history textbooks contain the particular historical view of the government. The opposition party says a diverse interpretation of history is the basis for a balanced history education.
The Historical Society of South Korea is opposed to the national textbook. They say national history textbooks will constantly change depending on the government’s political tendency. On October 30, Jung Young-wook, the president of the Historical Society of South Korea, said, “Enforcing national history textbooks without discussion with the public is a problem for education and democracy in Korea.” In addition, a lot of Korean history professors and students are opposed to the national history textbooks.
Foreign press also reported negatively about the national history textbook. The Asahi Shimbun asked why South Korea does not respect diverse views of history, especially in a democratic country. The New York Times reported that the government did not discuss the national Korean history textbook, which is a return to the authoritarian past. The Financial Times reported that the Korean public criticized the national history textbook because they think Park Geun-hye’s purpose is to glamorize the dictatorship of Park Chung-hee. The BBC reported that the public and the academic community are opposed to national history textbooks.
National history textbooks are very rare. There are no countries which have adopted national history textbooks in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The UN has also pointed out the dangers of national history textbooks. A UN General Assembly special report in 2013 said national history textbooks risk instilling a certain ideology, and history through only a single textbook is a problem.
The history textbook conflict is due to politics rather than education. History education should help students to understand history from a variety of views and learn as objectively as possible. Therefore, the exclusion of political affiliation or ideology in history education and a serious discussion about history education
