Korean NGO calls for rectification of misrepresented history

VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea), an Internet-based South Korean nongovernmental organization, said on Monday that it has made a request for rectification of the said misrepresentation of the country’s history. 　

“The history of Korea is marked by successive conquest. Long dominated by China, the peninsula had passed into Japanese control in 1910 following the Russo-Japanese War.” This passage is written on the official website of the Canadian ministry of veterans’ affairs (veterans.gc.ca), where you can find it on the top of the first page of ‘Background of the conflict,’ in the list of Valour remembered – Canadians in Korea, under the category of History after clicking The Korean War in the menu of Remembrance (Home > Remembrance > The Korean War > History > Valour remembered – Canadians in Korea > Background of the conflict).

The Australian website of veterans’ affairs agency (anzacportal.dva.gov.au) marked the East Sea as Sea of Japan on the page of “Korean War – Strategic Map” under the category of Resources, which shows the map of the Korean Peninsula during the Korean War (Home > The Korean war > Resources > Korean War – strategic map).

“What is said on the Canadian website contains distorted information and misrepresentation about Korea’s history while the map posted on the Australian website shows a vestige of Japanese imperialism,” said an official at VANK. “We've made a request as part of an effort to prevent any misleading or misunderstanding information about the history of Korea, more than to simply correct errors.”


Taek Kyoon Sohn sohn@donga.com