Korea Reconsiders Korea-Japan Teachers & Students Exchange

Regarding the Japanese rejection to rectify its distorted history textbooks, the government sets for a reconsideration of the Korea-Japan teachers and students exchange programs and for the establishment of a permanent organization to prevent the distortions of the Korean history in the foreign history textbooks. The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development announced such measures in the `Countermeasures against the Japanese Historical Textbooks Distortion.`

The Ministry decided to cancel the government-level education exchange programs, such as the 60 college students and teachers visit to Japan scheduled in October and November, and the mutual visit of the 6 educational delegations of Korea and Japan at the end of the year.

The government is also considering the cancellation of the `Korea-Japan Middle-High School Student Exchange Program` and `the dispatch of the Korean students to Japanese Engineering Colleges.`

Since the Korea-Japan summit in 1998, both countries exchange 160 college students and teachers and 470 Korean middle-high school students and 300 Japanese students are dispatched to the other countries every year. The two countries agreed at the summit to exchange 10 thousands middle-high school students by 2008 and to dispatch 1000 Korean college students to the Japanese engineering colleges by 2010.

The Education Ministry will establish a permanent organization for the correction of the wrong descriptions of the Korean history in the foreign history textbooks and for the comparative research on the two Koreas` history books. Japan established the International Education Information Center under the Foreign Ministry in 1958 and has made efforts to correct the descriptions of the foreign countries. Germany has established the International Textbook Institute since the Second World War. The Education Ministry is currently reviewing the plans to newly establish a permanent center such as `International Textbook Institute` or `Center for Correct Views On Korea` or to expand the Office of Korean Image Promotion Studies in the Korean Educational Development Institute. The Ministry will also develop the study materials and teaching guides for the issues in the history of Korea-Japan relations for the elementary and secondary educations and also will distribute the pan-national curricula in cooperation with the EBS. The Ministry will support 2 billion won for the research on the Korea-Japan relation history every year until 2006.

Lee In-Chul inchul@donga.com