(EDITORIAL from the JoongAng Daily on Nov. 10)

No to textbook politics

The controversy over revisions to modern Korean history textbooks used in high
schools is mounting. As the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
unveiled its draft recommendations focusing on the revision of left-leaning
content in history textbooks, some of the writers told the press they would not
accept the government recommendations.
One of the biggest culprits behind this controversy is the education
authorities??? manner of acting only according to its present situation.
The Education Ministry, which disseminated teaching and learning materials of
modern history to high schools nationwide in its initiative to intensify the
nation???s modern history education, met with resistance three years ago.
Nonetheless, now it is preparing to hurriedly overhaul the textbooks after the
launch of a new administration.
The recommendations also fail to get to the point. For example, it changed just a
few minor points such as "confiscating rice" to "collecting rice" and "finally"
to "hereafter."
The Education Minister is entitled to order the revision of authorized texts, but
the authors should be at the forefront of making appropriate corrections.
We are not saying that they should be forced to shift from the left to the right
and satisfy all the demands of the new administration. We have already criticized
the alternative textbook published by the New Right Union for justifying the
dictatorship of authoritarian leaders of the past.
Authors insist that diversity in describing our history should be allowed. But
textbooks are not private theses. They are more comparable to the keynote speech
at a seminar. Textbooks have tremendous influence on our young students. They
should reflect the shared thoughts of our society - the consensus rather than any
specific ideologies.
The procedural flaws should not hide intrinsic attributes. Furthermore, this
year???s College Scholastic Ability Test is supposed to include modern history in
its range of possible questions.
If there is a problem, we should correct it. However, we should not make the
mistake again of showing an inclination toward the far right. A review of
textbooks will be carried out three years from now. Until then, the screening
system should be overhauled thoroughly.
Regardless of the changes in political regimes, our children should be able to
read Korean textbooks of integrity.
(END)