Textbook screening

The Seoul High Court has ruled in favor of the Education, Science and Technology Ministry, which ordered Kumsung Publishing to amend its left-leaning high school textbooks on modern and contemporary Korean history. On Sept. 1 last year, the court had nullified the amendment order, saying assessment of the textbooks should come through deliberation by a specific textbook review committee within the ministry, which did not follow this procedure. This time, however, the court said no flaws occurred in the procedure, saying regulations do not require amendment orders to go through the review committee. Textbook authors agreed to make corrections when the ministry makes the order after the publishing contract is made.

The latest ruling said, “The country can screen a book upon request whether the book`s content is suitable for students, whether the book contains a biased view or expressions, and whether it goes against the national system and legitimacy.” The court emphasized that history textbooks should teach future generations historical truths based on Korea’s legitimacy and constitutional value. Education on Korean history should be distinguished from reading Korean history as academic study. The purpose of Korean history education is to make the people understand the nation’s legitimacy and to foster a sense of patriotism. The country has every right to exercise judicial review for the correction if it is for education.

Kumsung’s textbook contains biased sentences such as, “Under the Rhee Syngman administration, pro-Japanese collaborators were not eliminated, undoing efforts to start a new country based on national spirit,” and “North Korea`s land reform based on free confiscation and free distribution benefited farmers more than South’s farmland reform did.” The ministry’s order to correct 29 items is based on common sense. A person with a normal historical view would agree to it because of hard-to-understand and unclear expressions and unilateral claims that go against historical truth. The court judged that the ministry’s correction order did not overstep the latter’s authority.

Writing a textbook is different from writing a book personally based on freedom of expression. The court’s ruling has put the brakes on the recent phenomenon of prioritizing individual freedom of expression over the purpose of a society`s existence. The world will praise the success story of a poor country being freed from colonial rule, suffering through the Korean War, and achieved democratization and industrialization. Those writing history textbooks should refrain from taking a biased view and write contents that contain the very meaning of a society`s existence. The ministry should also exercise its screening rights on modern and contemporary Korean history textbooks to be distributed from 2013.