[Opinion] Twisted View of Modern History

Although more than 140 countries became independent after World War II, hardly any of them have been as successful as Korea. The democratization and economic development of Korea, whose per capita income has risen from $76 in 1960 to $20,000 in 2007 (forecasted figure,) is truly heart moving. However, left-leaning groups define Korea’s modern history as a failure.

Although interpretations of Korea’s modern history can differ between different groups to some extent, denouncing it as a failure is far from the truth.

The proliferation of leftist nationalism under past dictatorial governments has made this extreme perspective of history into a mainstream view. In the 1980s, left-leaning books, such as “A New Understanding of Korea’s Liberation,” were considered must-reads. Although people have changed their perspective of history since the end of the authoritarian rule era, the erroneous inheritance of the leftists has been exaggerated and reproduced in schools. Many schools use textbooks that deny the history of the Republic of Korea.

History teachers in advanced countries do not advocate their historical views in their classes. Instead, they provide a variety of materials and induce discussions from an objective point of view, leaving each and every student to make their own ultimate judgment. This is because there is no absolute answer when interpreting history. However, here in Korea, some teachers even take students on field trips to mountains where guerrillas waged their campaigns to infuse their leftist historical view into students. Although some scholars have been active in balancing historical details of textbooks by publishing “revised textbooks,” or “alternative textbooks,” they are still far outnumbered by left-leaning historical books.

President Roh Moo-hyun revealed his historical orientation right after he took office in 2003 at the anniversary of the Samiljeol or Independence Movement Day. He said, “Justice was defeated while opportunists prevailed in our modern history.” Leftist historians, including Ri Young-hee, have greatly influenced the 386 generation, including Roh. We must not expect a handful of volunteer scholars help change the ill-guided perspective of Korea’s modern history.

Hong Chan-sik, Editorial Writer, chansik@donga.com