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Last September, CHOI Jwa-Seong, a Korean compatriot living in America, filed an administrative lawsuit against a private school in the US teaching 'Dokdo is illegally occupied by Korea', the educational authority in charge and the state government of New Jersey. Northeast Asian History Foundation's research fellow KIM Yong-Hwan interviewed Attorney KIM Bong-Joon who was preparing for the lawsuit to find his position and listen to the litigation status. _ Note by the editor

KIM Yong-Hwan : I've heard that there is a Korean compatriot in America who has filed a lawsuit to stop Japan's distorted history textbook on Dokdo from being used in the US. The news has been reported in both Korea and Japan through media. I've heard that you have since played a big role about this lawsuit. When did you first have interest in Dokdo?

KIM Bong-Joon : I have been searching for materials relating to Dokdo since I became interested 7 years ago. With regard to Dokdo's another name 'Liancourt', I requested French government to get various materials.

KIM Yong-Hwan : I am glad to meet a Korean compatriot residing overseas who is eager to study Dokdo with a lot of interest like yours. How did you come into contact with this case and what was the reason that has led you to a lawsuit?

KIM Bong-Joon : About a year ago, I visited a Japan-affiliated school in New Jersey and I said that I wanted to see their textbooks that they were purchasing from Japan. I translated the textbook originally written in Japanese and I was surprised with the content. I was grown up in America and was not well aware of the situation in Korea. With regard to the dispute on Dokdo, I had thought that Korea was claiming the island as its own territory while Japan was claiming it as their own. But, the textbook said that Dokdo was being illegally occupied by Korea. So I checked about the school and found that the school was not a Japanese school but an American school affiliated with Japan. I thought that it was very wrong to teach content containing such a politically biased view at a school any American child can go to. This is how I started.

KIM Yong-Hwan : The textbook used at the Japan-affiliated private school in the US is a Husosha's textbook for Japanese citizens made by 'A group for producing new history textbooks'. The textbook has a lot of problems such as praising Japan's invasion of Korea. I am interested in more details of the lawsuit. Who is the defendant and what are the issues in your dealing with the case?

KIM Yong-Hwan

KIM Bong-Joon : To stop such a politically biased textbook from being taught to students, I thought a lot as to the defendant against whom the case would be brought. I tried to find the most appropriate target and I decided to accuse the Japan-affiliated American school, the Department of Education and the District Education Board. This is an administrative lawsuit. Our purpose is not about which country Dokdo belongs to, but we ask for correction to be made because the textbook contains very political views. Two possible solutions exist. The school license should be cancelled because it had been issued by the State Department of Education of New Jersey, or some part of the textbook containing the political view should be removed or the textbook itself should be replaced, our petition says.

KIM Yong-Hwan : There was a controversial case in the past when a book titled 'So Far from the Bamboo Grove' was selected as a teaching material in the US. The content of the book could cause hatred and racial discrimination against Korean people in relation to the period following Korea's Liberation. The Korean communities in the US expressed their strong opposition and eventually the book was removed from the list of teaching materials for local schools and the list of recommended books. The current case also deals with a very sensitive matter, and I think that to treat it as an educational matter was a good approach.

KIM Bong-Joon : I agree. But, this is a rightful demand that really makes sense. You should not tell American children that "Korea is illegally occupying Dokdo." It should not be allowed to say so at a school in a country other than Japan where many other nationals can go as well.

KIM Yong-Hwan : Then what responses have you received from the opponents about this litigation? Do you think of any alternative idea to solve the problem?

KIM Bong-Joon : There are three parties on the defendant side of this case : the Japan-affiliated American school in New Jersey, the State Department of Education of New Jersey and the Board of Education in Aokland, New Jersey. The State Department of Education responded and the Board of Education also responded through a lawyer. An interesting thing is that one of the top ten law firms in the US has been appointed to act for the Japan-affiliated school. The school's parents are not those in the rich class and the whole number of students is less than 200. Appointing such an expensive law firm raises a question.
In fact, our demand was not about fighting on the issue of Dokdo, but was to suggest that we should not tell biased content to children. We thought that they could hide the problematic parts of the textbook using stickers if abolition of the textbook were to incur a cost. We started with an attitude as light as that. Then, a big law firm appeared and requested a postponement for their preparation, and we are embarrassed a bit.

KIM Yong-Hwan : With regard to the litigation process, how has the case been dealt with so far? I understand that it costs a lot of money for a litigation in the US. How do you cover the cost? Is there any external assistance for this case?

KIM Bong-Joon : Time has taken the biggest share of the cost. Kim & Bae law firm has made a lot of efforts to find the direction and seek appropriate ways for this case. More time has been spent because nobody has ever taken such an approach in the past. Besides, a significant amount of money is used for translation including translating the Japanese text. However, we haven't had any external assistance at all. We do not want this matter to develop into one for the Korean community in the US or a matter for Korea. That's why we started the lawsuit as individuals and we will continue to do so.

KIM Yong-Hwan : Every Korean probably knows that Dokdo is part of their country's territory. But, it will not be easy for them to give explain to foreigners in detail with confidence. Our Foundation provides pamphlets and other materials on the East Sea and Dokdo through Korean diplomatic offices in foreign countries in order to convey correct knowledge about the East Sea and Dokdo. Did you know about our Foundation and Dokdo Research Institute before?

KIM Bong-Joon : I had never thought that there is Dokdo Research Institute in Korea. All we know is that one popular singer in Korea has made an advertisement about Dokdo. That is the problem. Basic information is hardly available. Even our staff members, who are preparing for this case, have thought that Dokdo belongs to Japan and the sea on the east coast of Korea is 'Sea of Japan'. Most materials available in foreign countries say so. Members of our staff involved in this case bring to me materials in Wikipedia totally reflecting Japan's views and ask me to point out where they are wrong. We have to first educate and persuade the members of our staff. You should be able to understand before you prepare documents supposedly persuading others. Now that Dokdo Research Institute exists within Northeast Asian History Foundation, I am glad that we can obtain materials from there.

KIM Bong-Joon

KIM Yong-Hwan : What do you think the result of this case will be? How would you react if your demand is not accepted or the result is not satisfactory?

KIM Bong-Joon : If we lose in this suit, we will be able to make an appeal. And the appeal could be dealt with in a civil affairs court. We are going through this process because such a demand should be made first according to the procedure. If our demand is not accepted, then we will have to tell the judge that 'we have come to this court because our demand was not accepted.' If we win this case, this will become the basis for us to look at other Japan-affiliated schools in New Jersey and other states. In this way, I would like to prevent students in the US from learning with textbooks written from biased historical views.

KIM Yong-Hwan : If US media describe that there is a territorial dispute on Dokdo between Korea and Japan, it will make us lose as much as that. Japan may have an intention to 'raise such an issue' as it is. It will be wrong of course if we just watch such education going on in the US. How enthusiastic are the US media and the general public about this lawsuit?

KIM Bong-Joon : The lawsuit has been so personal and has been dealt with so quietly that I cannot feel any public attention yet. However, 'Kim & Bae' dealing with this case is a law firm which had controversial cases in the past, winning difficult fights as well. Due to its past record, our law firm is quite famous in US media. We have been contacted by US media that have heard that 'Kim & Bae' was preparing for this case. We have refused to be interviewed until now, but we are thinking of releasing some information in regard to the litigation in order to prevent imagined stories from being reported.
The issue was approached through textbook, but there will be talks about Dokdo once the issue has been known to the public. We are minimizing (the risk) from our side, but we will have to prepare for possible public opinions and the eyes of the media. Therefore, we will need accurate materials even more to become our basis.

KIM Yong-Hwan : Japan would be most interested in this lawsuit. Has there been any contact from Japan?

KIM Bong-Joon : There has been a contact from Sankei Shinbun. They were so determined to contact, so I had a short interview on the phone with their correspondent in Washington. I clearly said to the correspondent that this is not a matter of Dokdo, but a matter of an American school. When the reporter asked "What is the next step after this?", I answered "We do not even think of the next stage." As I said earlier, I answered, "I started the suit because I thought as an American citizen that it was not right to teach biased political views at school." Then, the reporter asked back, "Isn't that a Japanese school?" So I replied, "It is a school that any US citizen can go to. I have made such a decision because it would be better for the future generations to make things clean and fair."

KIM Yong-Hwan : In fact, I saw a report in Sankei Shinbun recently. The newspaper treats this case as part of anti-Japan propaganda. The report says that they were concerned in case there were any impact on other schools as the same textbook was used in Japanese schools around the world. The result of this lawsuit will probably make a significant impact. In your preparation for the case, do you have something to expect from Northeast Asian History Foundation?

KIM Bong-Joon : As I said earlier, materials are essential to support our claims in relations to Dokdo. I expect objective and accurate materials prepared in English. Common knowledge available to us living in America is based on the Japanese logic. So our refutation could only be, "If you insist that Dokdo belongs to Japan, why do you not act about the Koreans living there? This alone shows that your textbook contradicts the reality. Therefore, you should not include the contradiction in your textbook." If we want to go further and prove that they are wrong in more details, we will need logical supporting documents.