By Kang Seung-woo
A bill to have school textbooks in Virginia use the East Sea together with the Sea of Japan has hit a snag, which may stop it being passed by the state legislature.
While the U.S. state’s General Assembly has been through a “crossover” ― approved bills cross from one house to the other for consideration ― there are some signs of moves to kill the bill, a year-long effort by Korean-Americans living there.
Taken by surprise, Peter Kim, head of Voice of Korean Americans (VoKA), a civic group that led Virginia’s East Sea campaign, held a press conference in Annandale, Va. on Saturday and said this was a very “serious situation.”
The bill calling for the Korean name to be added to all new public school textbooks in the states was approved 81-15 by the Virginia House of Delegates last month, and a Senate version of the legislation also passed in January.
However, at the crossover ― the midpoint of this legislative session ― the bill, dubbed House Bill 11, is pending at the Senate Education and Health Committee, while the Senate Bill (SB2) passed the House Education Committee 19-3 on Wednesday, awaiting a vote at the plenary session.
Both bills have practically the same wording, so a passage at either chamber will arrive on the desk of Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
“There are some bipartisan clashes, but the House of Delegates is expected to approve the bill this week,” said a diplomatic source.
The Virginia General Assembly should reach agreement on the “East Sea” bill by the end of session on Saturday (local time) to make the legislation go into effect as early as July 1. When the bill is approved, McAuliffe needs to sign it. The governor, who promised the bill in last year’s election as part of gaining votes from the sizable population of ethnic Koreans, has repeatedly vowed not to use his veto power.
House Republicans hold a strong majority in the chamber, so there are whispers among Korean-Americans that they will kill the SB2 in retaliation for what is happening in the Senate.
However, the Korean government believes that the House is likely to legalize the bill.
“Officials from the Korean Embassy in the United States believe the bill is expected to pass the plenary session,” the source said.
In a move to try and disrupt the legislation, Japanese Ambassador to the United States Kenichiro Sasae sent a letter to Gov. Terry McAuliffe in December warning that economic ties between Japan and the state could be hurt.