“East Sea” textbook movement spreading to other US states

Posted on : 2014-02-10 15:46 KST Modified on : 2014-02-10 15:46 KST
Buoyed by success in Virginia, Korean-American communities are exercising their growing political influence

By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent

After the Virginia legislature passed a bill to have “East Sea” written alongside “Sea of Japan” in public school textbooks last week, efforts to include “East Sea” in textbooks are spreading to New York and New Jersey, the US states on the East Coast with the largest populations of Korean-Americans.

Korean-American associations in New York and New Jersey decided to create a committee this week to promote legislation on adding the East Sea to American textbooks. A variety of organizations Korean-American community organizations are expected to take part in the committee.

On Feb. 8, the Korean-American Association of Greater New York announced that it had decided to organize a concerted effort across the Korean-American community to pass legislation mandating that “East Sea” and “Sea of Japan” be used together in public schools in New York State and New York City.

Laws on the issue have already been submitted to the upper and lower houses of the New York State at the request of Korean-American groups. The bills were submitted to the State Senate by Rep. Toby Ann Stavisky (Democrat) and to the State Assembly by Rep. Edward Brownstein (Democrat). The gist of the bills is requiring that “East Sea” be written alongside “Sea of Japan” in every textbook that is published after July 1.

Michelle Shimel, another lawmaker in the New York State Assembly, is also planning to submit a bill as early as Feb. 10. Executives from Korean-American organizations intend to begin visiting the New York legislature on Feb. 10 to ask lawmakers to support the bill. Gordon Johnson, a Democratic lawmaker in the New Jersey General Assembly, sponsored a related bill in the New Jersey legislature on Feb. 7.

A number of factors appear to be in play in the spread of the movement to add “East Sea” to textbooks, including the growing indignation of Korean-Americans because of continuing diplomatic conflict between South Korea and Japan, their revulsion at the fact that their children are being taught at school that the East Sea is the Sea of Japan, and their growing political influence. Another contributing factor is the fact that American politicians, who are gearing up for state elections in Nov. 2014, are aware of the power of Korean-American voters.

Perhaps for these reasons, Korean-American organizations are taking part in the movement on a large scale. Under the leadership of Voice of Korean Americans (VoKA), numerous organizations participated in the push to add “East Sea” to textbooks in Virginia, such as the Korean-American Coalition in Greater Washington, the Organization of Korean-American Women, the Korean Senior Citizen Association of Greater Washington, the Honam Fellowship of Washington, and the Korean Association of Vietnam War Veterans. Organizations participating in the efforts in New York and New Jersey include the Korean-American Association of Greater New York, the Korean-American Association of New Jersey, the Korean-American Parents Association of Greater New York, and Korean American Civic Empowerment.

Given this trend, there is a considerable chance that the movement will spread to other states in the US. Some Korean-Americans in the state of Washington are also preparing similar legislation, sources say.

In response, the Japanese embassy to the US hired lobbying groups in Virginia, and Japanese ambassador Kenichiro Sasae made a personal visit to the state, but they were unable to have much of an effect.

“Given the current mood in the area, it is very likely that bills about adding ‘East Sea’ to textbooks will also pass in the state legislatures in New York and New Jersey,” said Kim Dong-seok, founder of Korean American Civic Empowerment, a Korean-American advocacy group. “Since Chinese-Americans are very influential here, it will not be easy for the Japanese to take action.”

 

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