By Kim Hyo-jin
The ruling Saenuri Party is taking steps to give the government the right to author history textbooks that it views as being ideologically biased.
The floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, Won Yoo-chul, said Tuesday that 10 out of 22 authors of history textbooks for high school students are affiliated with a teachers' union.
The comment came a day after party Chairman Rep. Kim moo-sung voiced concerns about some controversial content in the history textbooks, stressing the need to overhaul the current authorization system.
Rep. Won questioned the political orientation of the authors who participated in publishing history textbooks.
"Ostensibly, there is a multiple number of history textbooks, but in truth, they are just one kind, reflecting a biased view of history," Won said during a party meeting.
"It is no exaggeration to say that they are the products of the Korea Teachers and Education Workers Union."
Won claimed 10 out of 22 authors of the existing eight textbooks are tied to the union.
"There is a monopoly of politically biased textbook writers, which should be addressed immediately," he said.
The ruling party is working with the government to have students learn history with only a state-approved textbook, a move that has been drawing fierce protests from civic groups and academia.
Citing the need to revise and correct ideological bias in the current history textbooks, Kim said, "I wonder what the underlying intention is of introducing North Korea's Juche ideology in South Korean students' textbooks."
"We need a history textbook that can provide students a balanced perspective on history," he added, referring to it as a way to normalize history education.
A series of remarks from the governing camp is interpreted as its bid to collect support from conservative voters before April's general elections, according to political watchers.
"Their stance can appeal to right-wingers easily, as it is an ideological frame under which those who oppose the revision can be dubbed as so-called ‘North Korea followers,'" said Yoon Tae-gon, a senior political analyst at Moa Agenda Strategy.
Some also view it as Kim's attempt to diffuse the recent conflict between him and President Park Geun-hye by joining his voice with that of the administration.
The long-standing debate over introducing state-authored history textbooks has resurfaced since the government unveiled the plan last month.
Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea reiterated his position during the parliamentary audit session that students should be taught history with a single book, signaling the government elevating the pace to push for state-authored textbooks.
The system had been used for 30 years, since 1974, before the Roh Moo-hyun administration scrapped it, allowing private publishers to print history textbooks for use at middle and high schools with government approval.
High schools are currently allowed to choose among eight kinds of state-approved history textbooks, and for middle schools among nine.
Aligning with the government, the ruling party established a special committee to improve history textbooks on Oct. 1.
However, the move has faced strong opposition from civic society and opposition parties.
The number of people and academics who signed a petition against the government pushing ahead with the plan is now more than 50,000.
Critics say it can censor the people's perception of history and their way of thinking.
"A unified view given by a standardized history textbook will deter people from being a subject with his or her own view," Fuji Takeshi, a professor at the Sungkyunkwan University, said.
The ruling Saenuri Party is taking steps to give the government the right to author history textbooks that it views as being ideologically biased.
The floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, Won Yoo-chul, said Tuesday that 10 out of 22 authors of history textbooks for high school students are affiliated with a teachers' union.
The comment came a day after party Chairman Rep. Kim moo-sung voiced concerns about some controversial content in the history textbooks, stressing the need to overhaul the current authorization system.
Rep. Won questioned the political orientation of the authors who participated in publishing history textbooks.
"Ostensibly, there is a multiple number of history textbooks, but in truth, they are just one kind, reflecting a biased view of history," Won said during a party meeting.
"It is no exaggeration to say that they are the products of the Korea Teachers and Education Workers Union."
Won claimed 10 out of 22 authors of the existing eight textbooks are tied to the union.
"There is a monopoly of politically biased textbook writers, which should be addressed immediately," he said.
The ruling party is working with the government to have students learn history with only a state-approved textbook, a move that has been drawing fierce protests from civic groups and academia.
Citing the need to revise and correct ideological bias in the current history textbooks, Kim said, "I wonder what the underlying intention is of introducing North Korea's Juche ideology in South Korean students' textbooks."
"We need a history textbook that can provide students a balanced perspective on history," he added, referring to it as a way to normalize history education.
A series of remarks from the governing camp is interpreted as its bid to collect support from conservative voters before April's general elections, according to political watchers.
"Their stance can appeal to right-wingers easily, as it is an ideological frame under which those who oppose the revision can be dubbed as so-called ‘North Korea followers,'" said Yoon Tae-gon, a senior political analyst at Moa Agenda Strategy.
Some also view it as Kim's attempt to diffuse the recent conflict between him and President Park Geun-hye by joining his voice with that of the administration.
The long-standing debate over introducing state-authored history textbooks has resurfaced since the government unveiled the plan last month.
Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea reiterated his position during the parliamentary audit session that students should be taught history with a single book, signaling the government elevating the pace to push for state-authored textbooks.
The system had been used for 30 years, since 1974, before the Roh Moo-hyun administration scrapped it, allowing private publishers to print history textbooks for use at middle and high schools with government approval.
High schools are currently allowed to choose among eight kinds of state-approved history textbooks, and for middle schools among nine.
Aligning with the government, the ruling party established a special committee to improve history textbooks on Oct. 1.
However, the move has faced strong opposition from civic society and opposition parties.
The number of people and academics who signed a petition against the government pushing ahead with the plan is now more than 50,000.
Critics say it can censor the people's perception of history and their way of thinking.
"A unified view given by a standardized history textbook will deter people from being a subject with his or her own view," Fuji Takeshi, a professor at the Sungkyunkwan University, said.
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