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First history book to be used in class jointly published by Japanese and South Korean teachers

Japanese and South Korean teachers have jointly put out for the first time a history book to be used in junior high schools and high schools in both countries, recognizing that mutual understanding is essential in promoting education that can bring about friendship and peace between the two countries.

The Korean version of this book will be published in August and the Japanese version in September. Teachers of both countries involved in the project reported on their activities these past five years at the annual convention of the History Educationalist Conference of Japan held in Saitama Prefecture on July 29-31.

The Japanese history teachers' organization and the South Korean Association of Korean History Teachers launched the joint project in 2001, when Japan's Education Ministry received strong criticism from South Korea and China because the ministry approved a history textbook published by the "Society for History Textbook Reform" that glorifies Japan's past war of aggression. In July 2001, a representative of the South Korean association proposed at the convention of the Japanese organization to jointly publish a history book for classroom use.

The book deals with not only the historical relations between the two countries but the social and cultural backgrounds of each country extensively because the teachers of both countries realized that teaching historical facts about Japan's aggression and colonial rule alone does not necessarily make students realize the importance of friendship. The teachers thought that knowledge about the realities of people's daily lives will help students to acquire a sense of community and willingness to respect and understand each other.

Because of the constraint of time, the book does not include a history of the modern era, which will be examined later through further exchanges of opinions.

The book takes up 35 themes such as China and ancient East Asia, kana (the Japanese syllabaries) and hangul (the Korean alphabetical writing system), and farmer's living conditions in the Edo era and the Li Dynasty instead of writing history in a chronicle fashion. The editors present the history of both countries within the framework of East Asia, helping students to understand points in common as well as differences and the history made through exchanges between the two countries.

In commemoration of the publication, a Japanese teacher talked about the culture of the ordinary people in the Edo period using Ukiyoe prints at a high school in Seoul on August 10. This follows a South Korean teacher's lesson on popular paintings in South Korea.

Some of the students said, "By comparing the culture of the two countries I have come to realize the uniqueness of each country as well as the points they have in common. Though I felt antipathy toward Japan because of the Dokdo Island (Takeshima Island) issue, studying our common cultural background has made me understand that we should not regard Japan as an enemy."

This lesson was reported by major newspapers and TV stations in South Korea.

A representative of the Japanese group Toriyama Takeo, an Aoyama Gakuin University lecturer, said, "It has often been the case in Japan that simply teaching historical facts about Japan's aggression showing how terrible it was, students easily lose interest in the lesson. It is necessary for the students to understand the importance of friendship through learning the background of Japan's colonization of Korea and evoking sympathy for Korean people using their intellect."

Emphasizing the need to make efforts to overcome hatred and increase shared memories for the sake of coexistence, South Korean representative Yang Jung-Hyun, professor at Pusan National University, said, "In preparation for the modern era part of the history book, we would like to review modern history from the perspective of the whole of East Asia beyond the framework of the two nations and the border."
- Akahata, August 19, 2006