Teach students Korean history at school

A broadcasting company interviewed teens on the street last month to test their knowledge in history, and the result brought about controversy on the Internet. A student read the 3•1 Movement (the March first Independence Movement) “Three-point-one movement.” When asked about the Yasukuni Shrine, a teenager asked, “You mean Yasukuni gentleman?” (In Korean, pronunciation of the words shrine and gentleman are the same.) These ridiculous answers came as a shock to many Koreans.

Four years ago, collegian union club “Survival Game” made a 30 meters wide and 50 meters long hanging picture of the hand of patriotic martyr Ahn Jung-geun with hand prints of 30,000 people. To get the hand prints, the club members crossed Korea and even went abroad. When the giant hanging picture was displayed in areas near Gwanghwamun, a student mistakenly cited a famous act by another patriotic martyr Yun Bong-gil as an act done by Ahn while talking to one of his friends. This also embarrassed many Koreans.

Entering the 2000s, neighboring countries put more efforts in distorting history. For example, China has worked to make the history of Korean dynasties of Goguryeo and Balhae Chinese history while Japan has strengthened its efforts to make Korea’s eastern most islets Dokdo its own territory. Against this backdrop, over the past ten years, certain Koreans have tried to let the world know about history-distortion efforts by China and Japan by advertizing the facts on major newspapers such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.

The biggest obstacle, however, was not the governments of China and Japan but the indifference of Koreans. Korean teens say Dokdo is Korean territory, which is not surprising because it is. But when asked to give grounds for their belief, most of them cannot answer. This is because Korean students have not been taught about their history. How can this happen?

In 2005, the government turned history class into an optional course for high school students under the cause of reducing academic burden on college applicants. Moreover, only students majoring liberal arts have the option. Students majoring natural sciences cannot even choose history class. In addition, when only Seoul National University requires history for entrance exam, the majority of students who do not apply for the university have hard time motivating themselves to study history.

Former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt knelt down at the monument to victims of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and the country has continued apology and paying for damage. Germany’s example shows that a right history education which passes down to the following generations can recover the country’s honor and even make the country respected by the world.

Contrary to Germany, Korea allocated only five percent of school curriculum for history class. In 2009, the Education Ministry allowed schools to teach Korean history curriculum for high school in one semester or in one year. This may be dubbed a fast track for history. It is only natural that Korean students do not know history when the school tries to cram Korean history all at once in a short period of time.

To reverse the situation, a signature-seeking campaign to include Korean history to college entrance exam has been conducted both online and offline from June 5. It would be wrong to blame young people for their ignorance about their country’s history. The blame should be directed to adults who caused this situation. It is not too late to correct the problem.

Present is based on the past, and therefore, our future will also be rooted in the past. From this point of view, what we need the most for a prosperous future is Korean history education. To compete in the global economy, major economies have strengthened not only history education of their own history but also that of other countries. To build a stronger country, Korea needs to correct history education. It would be no use complaining or criticizing the Chinese and Japanese governments about their distortion of history. Before blaming other countries, Koreans should know their history well and counteract effectively. This is because the territory and history of Korea should be secured by Koreans.