Allowing Fund-Raising for a Pro-Japanese Biographical Dictionary

The government deliberated and voted for a plan allowing the raising of contributions for a pro-Japanese biographical dictionary compilation in a Cabinet Council meeting held in Cheong Wa Dae and presided over by President Roh Moo-hyun on January 27.

By this measure, the Institute for National Studies, headed by Yim Hyun-young, a professor of Korean literature at Chungang University, can legitimately collect 3.5 billion won (around $3 million) until 2006. The institute had carried on a fund-raising campaign for a compilation of a pro-Japanese biographical dictionary without the government’s permission.

The Institute for National Studies was founded in 1991 to pay tribute to the will of dissident scholar Im Jong-guk (1929-1989), who had spent his whole life in studying Japanese questions and who wrote books such as “Pro-Japanese Literature Theory” and “Japan’s Invasion and Pro-Japanese.” The institute’s goal is to set up a distorted history and compile a pro-Japanese biographical dictionary through studies and explanations on modern national questions while clearing the remains of Japanese rule in Korea.

The compilation of the dictionary began with a Board for Pro-Japanese Biographical Dictionary Compilation composed of about 150 experts at home and abroad in December, 2002. The board, whose head is a history professor Yoon Kyung-ro of Han-seong University, plans to publish a collection of about 20 books, including the pro-Japanese biographical dictionary, a handbook for pro-Japanese groups and a collection for terminology explanations over five years. For this goal, the Institute wants to collect 3.5 billion won using private donations supported by the government.

A spokesperson, Yoon Tae-young of Cheong Wa Dae, said that President Roh stated the government “is supposed to have the flexibility to implement various activities from various views,” and that Roh ordered an “examination of the validity of the laws on raising money through ways like studying legislative cases in other countries.” In addition, after the presentation, Roh requested preventive measures against bird flu “to pay close attention to its prevention, spread, and return while examining every course thoroughly.” Roh also encouraged the finding of “an active way to promote the consumption of chicken, duck, and meat.”

Jong-Hoon Lee Hyoung-Chan Kim taylor55@donga.com khc@donga.com