South Korean scholars have declared they are boycotting the writing of state-issued history textbooks out of concern that they will teach distorted views on the country’s recent history.
President Park Geun-hye’s government plans to require middle and high schools to use textbooks edited by the government after 2017, instead of allowing schools to choose from eight private publishers, as is currently the case.
South Korea’s move toward state-issued textbooks is the latest in a series of efforts by conservative leaders in Seoul and Tokyo to shape school history books to reflect their political views, and has sparked fierce criticism from academics and opposition parties.
Professors from more than 20 South Korean universities said they will not contribute to the textbooks because they believe the government is moving to soften descriptions of South Korea’s brutal dictatorships that preceded a bloody transition toward democracy in the 1980s. The Korean History Research Association, the country’s largest group of historians with nearly 800 members, has declared it will not participate in the writing process.
Kang Sun-a, a spokeswoman of the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, said that the directive to revert to state-issued history textbooks has “instantly taken the country back to the Cold War period.”
In announcing the controversial plans Monday, Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea argued that the current history textbooks are too left-leaning and encourage views sympathetic to North Korea and urged for the need of school books that are “objective” and “balanced.”
Park is the daughter of slain military dictator Park Chung-hee, who ruled South Korea in the 1960s and 70s, and whose legacy as a successful economic strategist is marred by brutal records of civilian oppression.
Before leaving for her current trip to the United States, Park defended the move toward state-issued textbooks by saying history classes must inspire “pride” in students for being South Korean citizens.
