hankyoreh

Nov. 14. (Photo by Shin So-young)

By Choi Woo-ri　

Historians and civic and social organizations have issued forceful objections to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s (MEST) recent controversial decision to unilaterally change the writing standards for middle school history textbooks according to the suggestions of the Association for Contemporary Korean History, a group with New Right leanings.

Solidarity for the Practice of Historical Justice to Prevent the Glorification of Japanese Collaboration and Dictatorship and Change Textbooks for the Worse, a group with participation from the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities and 421 other groups, held an inauguration ceremony Monday morning at the Korea Press Center in Seoul’s Jung District. At the ceremony, participants called for a withdrawal of the MEST writing standards and the resignation of Education Minister Lee Ju-ho.

Attendees at the ceremony included former Korea Democracy Foundation Chairman Ham Se-woong, former National Institute of Korean History head Lee Man-yeol, and other veterans from civil society and academia.

In its inaugural statement, the group said, “KBS has aired documentaries on pro-Japanese collaborationist Paik Sun-yup and dictator Rhee Syng-man, and as of 2013 all major content about dictatorship and democratization is being deleted from middle school history textbooks, including the Rhee Syng-man dictatorship, the May 16 military coup d’etat spearheaded by Park Chung-hee, the May 18 democratization movement, and the New Military administration under Chun Doo-hwan.”

“The distortions of history are going beyond the bounds of common sense into the realm of the criminal,” the group said.

Local government and civil society heads from Gwangju, South Jeolla, and Jeju also issued calls Monday for the withdrawal of the new MEST writing standards and the resignation of Lee Ju-ho.

A Gwangju delegation including Mayor Kang Woon-tae sent a complaint Monday to the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House), demanding an apology from President Lee Myung-bak for the decision to omit reference to the Gwangju massacre from the history textbook writing standards.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]