Education Ministry's textbook review includes material accused of downplaying colonial Japan

The Ministry of Education on Friday revealed the results of its review of new history textbooks set to be introduced in schools next year, which included material that contained only one line about the "comfort women" issue.

The Ministry of Education on Friday announced the results of its review of new history textbooks to be introduced across middle and high schools under recent curriculum changes. [YONHAP]

The Ministry of Education on Friday revealed the results of its review of new history textbooks set to be introduced in schools next year.

Following recent curriculum changes, 32 textbooks from nine publishers passed the review process for use in elementary, middle and high schools. The introduction of new history textbooks has often sparked intense debate between conservative and progressive scholars over how historical events are described and interpreted.

Some of the textbooks, however, have generated controversy for allegedly downplaying the Japanese military's wartime sexual slavery and adopting more neutral language when describing pro-Japanese figures.

At the center of the debate is the Korean history textbook from the Korea Institute for Learning Evaluation, which passed the review for the first time.

One chapter on Japan's colonial rule over Korea reduces the discussion of the "comfort women" issue to a single sentence, vaguely stating that "young women were taken and forced into a terrible life," according to local media reports. The textbook presents the reasons for remembering the comfort women issue and efforts to resolve it primarily as supplementary materials and exercises.

Unlike other textbooks, the Korea Institute for Learning Evaluation's edition includes more favorable evaluations of pro-Japanese intellectuals. The textbook references the poet Seo Jeong-ju, a Japanese sympathizer during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula, stating, "Some argue that his beautiful works should be recognized as an important part of our literary heritage."

The textbook also adopts the term "liberal democracy," a term commonly used by conservative circles, instead of "democracy" when discussing the establishment of the Republic of Korea.

In its assessment of the Rhee Syngman administration, Korea's first president, the textbook diverges from others that label it a "dictatorship," using instead terms like "long-term rule" and "the Liberty Party's extension of power."

Regarding the Korean War, the textbook notes that North Korea was equipped with modern weapons and was "thoroughly prepared to invade the South."

Once the range of new textbooks are distributed to schools by Dec. 2, each school will review them and select the publisher they wish to use for the upcoming academic year.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]