뉴스레터

Swapping places: Way to Disentangle the knots of Historical Conflict

The seeds of conflict are sown in the field of differing viewpoints. Differences in outlook play a major role in conflicts not only between individuals and groups but also within society and between nations. At the heart of historical conflicts in Northeast Asian--especially among Korea, China, and Japan--is deep-rooted, nation-centered historical perception and exclusivist nationalism.

The greater the differences in perceptions are, the more entangled the knots of historical conflict become. The question is, can these knots be disentangled? One answer is swapping places. That is, putting yourself in the other's shoes. Looking at things from the other's standpoint can alleviate historical tension and serve as the key that opens the door to historical reconciliation.

The Northeast Asian History Foundation's "Exchange Program for History and Cultural Studies Teachers"--a part of the Foundation's project to strengthen history education--is a hands-on program that puts into action the spirit of putting oneself in the other's shoes. Through the program, history and cultural studies teachers from different countries swap places and teach classes in one another's countries. The program aims to expand the mutual understanding of the respective countries' cultures and histories and the sharing of a future-oriented historical consciousness. And in so doing, the program hope to lay the foundation for a Northeast Asian peace regime.

In 2009, the Foundation placed an open announcement and accepted applications for this program. The applications were evaluated and 20 teachers were selected. The 20 teachers have been divided into 5 teams of 4, 2 teachers from a given country per team. The teacher exchange will take place within this year. The participating teachers will base their lecture on set lesson plans, including "History of Korea-China Relations in Cultural Exchanges" and "History of Korea-Japan Relations in Textbooks." They will thus have an opportunity to communicate with students from another country and narrow the differences in historical perceptions in Northeast Asia.

Opportunity to narrow differences

Korea, China, and Japan have all striven to resolve historical conflicts in Northeast Asia. Above all else, active dialogue and exchanges between conscientious intellectuals and educators have made signifiant contributions to laying down the framework for developing a future-oriented historical consciousness. Such efforts have led to the co-development of educational materials (i.e., History to Open the Future) by Korea, China, and Japan. The materials have been used for peace education in classrooms. Developments such as these have played an important role in deepening the mutual understanding of the differences in perception and historical memory. They have also helped heal the scars of historical conflicts.

In this context, the Korea-China-Japan teacher exchange program holds special meaning. The program will be an opportunity for educators to actually practice and share the spirit of putting oneself in the other's shoes by teaching future-oriented lessons on peace that are the product of years of research.

In turn, Korean, Japan, and Chinese adolescents will be able to look beyond a historical framework that is founded on a simple dichotomy of aggressor and victim. In this way, they will come to understand and embrace the history and culture of another country to develop a balanced outlook for a peaceful future of coexistence. The historical dialogue between the youth of Korea, China, and Japan will help develop a common language that will open a new future. It will also serve as an invaluable opportunity to devise new methodologies for desirable history education.