Which version of Korean history is to be taught?
Dear editor,
This is in response to a Feb. 25 Op-Ed article, “Globalizing Korean history book,” written by chief editorial writer Lee Chang-sup.
Can any Korean historian impartially explain events such as the Japanese occupation and the Korean War without external influence?
It is not uncommon to see the freedom of speech (and of historical interpretation) of Korean citizens compromised with the National Security Law.
Hardly one day has passed since the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan without the publishing of news articles interpreting North Korea’s responsibility as a “fact,” despite numerous citizens showing concerns over the integrity of the Joint Investigation Group’s report. Failure to “defend national interests” can lead to serious trouble.
Korean history books do praise nationalism. But is there a single country in the world that describes its history otherwise than by its own perspective, and without praising nationalism to some extend? I seriously doubt it.
History is often written by the winners; the Americans and the British are no exception. In fact, they represent the most eloquent case of distorted history.
As author Chang Ha-joon well describes, they have a tendency to interpret their own historical economic development in such a way as to praise neo-liberalism, therefore justifying the enforcement of free-trade mechanism to developing countries through institutions such as the IMF and WTO, which in fact further benefit the richer countries.
No developed country has achieved its economic development through free trade and pure neo-liberalism principles, Korea the least.
There is no such thing as an ideology-free history. While travelling across North Korea, I have seen a book entitled “The U.S. Imperialists Started the Korean War.” Propaganda, you’ll say? But aren’t South Korea and the U.S., to some extent, also using propaganda in their recount of the war?
Hasn’t George W. Bush used propaganda against North Korea to justify its politics? If the government was to use international expertise to publish “… ideology-free Korean history books in English,” wouldn’t you agree that North Korean historians should also have their say?
Yet it is very unlikely that a single version of the war could satisfy everyone. This is why history is and will remain, in most cases, accumulations of subjective interpretations by diverse opportunity groups.
Who, then, could be impartial enough as to judge which interpretation is to be taught to South Korean students and subsequently globalized? Certainly not the government.
Arnaud Minne