8 history textbooks should accept correction recommendation

The Education Ministry has recommended corrections and complementation at eight Korean history textbooks of high schools. A total of 829 textbooks are requested to do so through expert counseling, including 251 of Kyohak Publishing`s textbooks, followed by Liber School with 112 textbooks, and Chunjae Education 107.

Excluding Kyohak Publishing that already said it would make corrections, the authors of the remaining seven textbooks said they will reject if the Education Ministry recommends corrections. The ministry said it would make a correction order on behalf of the minister if they do not accept correction recommendation. Rejection to correction order will lead to cancellation of textbook verification. In 2008, Kumsung Publishing`s Korean modern history textbook was claimed as being left-wing oriented and got correction recommendation by the Education Ministry. But the authors resisted saying that it`s an infringement on author`s moral rights, which led to lawsuits. There is possibility that the Education Ministry and textbook writers can be mired in a face-to-face collision.

The textbooks in question wrote temple instead of lecture hall, and on Sungnyemun whose recovery construction is completed wrote that the recovery work is under progress (Chunjae Education). Errors can result in mistrust by students. They must me corrected.

Many textbooks carried content that could implant wrong history awareness. Some historians attacked Kyohak`s textbook saying, "It wrote as if the Japanese forced sexual slavery was executed only at the end of Japanese colony of Korea. Seven other books contained the same problem. The division of two Koreas after independence started as Soviet Union set up a People`s Committee, a de facto government organization, in North Korea in February 1946. However, all eight textbooks excluded this content and wrote as if South Korea was responsible for the division. Correction of these errors are a matter of conscience.

The ministry`s latest measure set a bad precedent of notifying repeated corrections on textbooks that already passed verification. The latest verification was done by just six experts on nine candidate textbooks. The number of experts should be increased and enough time should be given to them. Correction and complementation should be done within the verification process.

It is wrong to teach students with textbooks that deny the legitimacy of Korea. It is important to contain a balanced view on national foundation, industrialization and democratization. The writers of the seven textbooks should accept the government`s recommendation. History writing is basically in the realm of academia. Political sector should refrain from inflammatory criticism and unnecessary disputes.