Korean Teachers Organize Special Class on Correct History of Goguryo

The Korea Federation of Teachers’ Associations (KFTA) and the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (KTEWU) have decided to open a special class where students can learn the correct history of the Goguryo Dynasty.

This class is scheduled to start in the second semester of this year.

The KFTA announced its statement yesterday, saying, “China’s recent ridiculous attempt to include ancient Goguryo into its territory is a reckless act that disclaims Korea’s legitimacy and its history,” adding, “We will take various actions against it and open a special class where students can learn the correct history of the Goguryo Dynasty.”

Aside from this special class, the KFTA plans to organize a teachers’ gathering for the correction of distorted history, develop an educational exchange among teachers’ organizations located in Korea, China, and Japan, and visit the Chinese Embassy to express its protest.

The KTEWU also announced a statement, saying, “Since the introduction of the seventh curriculum reform, Korea’s modern and contemporary history have been given less attention as they have been classified as elective courses,” adding, “As soon as the semester starts, we will prepare materials and open the special class entitled, “Protesting against historical distortion and learning the true story of ancient history.”

The KTEWU also suggested action plans to appeal to international cultural and educational organizations like the UNESCO and Education International for the correction of the distorted history, and decided to develop an educational exchange to teach correct history in cooperation with teachers’ organizations in China and Japan.

However, since the KFTE and the KTEWU are carrying out this plan separately, some address the possibility that students might suffer from confusion.

In regard to this, both organizations responded, saying, “We will have a talk soon and decide whether to move forward together or separately.

Hyo-Lim Son aryssong@donga.com