The Northeast Asian History Foundation (President Park Ji-hang) held a forum on Thursday, April 23, in the Foundation’s main conference room under the theme, “Modern and Contemporary East Asian History Narratives and Korea-China Historical Awareness.”

This forum was organized to review major changes in modern and contemporary history narratives in Korean and Chinese textbooks and to build an academic cooperation network aimed at narrowing differences in historical awareness between the two countries. The event introduced analyses and academic concerns raised by Korean scholars regarding descriptions of Korean history in Chinese textbooks, while also providing an opportunity to discuss ways to pursue more objective and balanced historical narratives between Korea and China.

The forum consisted of three sessions in total.

In Session 1, under the theme “The First Sino-Japanese War and East Asia,” Professor Hong Moon-ki of Chongshin University and Professor Zhang Hanlin (張漢林) of Capital Normal University delivered presentations.

In Session 2, under the theme “The Russo-Japanese War and East Asia,” Professor Kim So-young of Kongju National University and Zhan Xiaobai (湛晓白) of Beijing Normal University gave presentations.

In the final Session 3, under the theme “East Asian National Movements: the March 1st Movement and the May 4th Movement,” Professor Hong Jong-wook of Seoul National University and Professor Lin Huifeng (林辉锋) of Beijing Normal University presented their papers, followed by a general discussion that concluded the forum.

President Park Ji-hang stated, “Through these presentations, we were able to reflect on the limitations of nation-centered historical narratives in the textbooks of both countries and to confirm a shared awareness of the need to reconstruct historical narratives within East Asian and global historical contexts.” She added, “To promote balance in history education and diversity in textbook narratives, we will actively support the advancement of textbook research by creating opportunities for continued exchange and cooperation between the academic and history education communities of Korea and China.”