뉴스레터

I have been assigned to teach 'East Asian History' starting from March 2012. It is a new course that feels very unfamiliar to me for I am used to teaching the traditional Korean History-World History curriculum. I was worried at the prospect of teaching this new course, until the Northeast Asian History Foundation offered the 'training program for teachers of East Asian history' during the breaks. I was lucky to be chosen for the program that included a good lecture and field trips to Shanghai and Nanjing in China.

Shanghai Showcases China's Rapid Growth into a World-Class Economic Power

In the evening of the first day of the program, there was a lecture on Korea-China relations following the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties. It was explained that China's middle school and high school history textbooks included few, if any, descriptions of Korea, not to mention the history of Koguryo, a topic sensitive to the Koreans. I thought that this reflects China's practical stance that it is unnecessary to include in their textbooks a subject that could cause trouble between both countries when it is not even important in Chinese history. On the other hand, it was explained, the Chinese textbooks devote quite a few pages to describing Japan, including Japanese pirates, Meiji Restoration, and the Sino-Japanese War. I wonder if this reflects China's sense of deprivation that they have been replaced by Japan as the center of East Asia since the 20th century. Anyway, I don't think that either of the China's viewpoints is appropriate in teaching East Asian history.
In Shanghai, we visited the Middle School Affiliated to Fudan University. One of the most impressive things about the school was that its students from the elite of China were required to spend over one month a year in a remote rural area to live with the local residents and experience their life. This policy of teaching the privileged about their responsibility reminded me of the reality of education in Korea where teaching a sense of community has been neglected. This isn't to say that the school was taking history particularly seriously or had much interest in East Asian history. But their high school history textbooks which covered political history, socioeconomic history, and the history of ideology, culture, and science as the main focus for the first year, the second year, and the third year, respectively, without labeling them as Chinese History or World History struck me as distinct from the Korean history textbooks that were still confined to the boundary of 'Korean History.'

It finally started raining from the sky of Shanghai that had been overcast since our arrival. That didn't discourage us from enjoying the famous night view of Shanghai. Two of the teachers and I grabbed a taxi to go to Waitain together. The buildings lined up on the streets under the glaring lights in the rain seemed to show off as if they were the best. There was no consideration for the neighbors or the overall harmony of the streets. Adding to this was the Monument to the People's Heroes rising high on the riverside which commemorates those who have made sacrifice for the independence of China and the liberation of the people since the Opium Wars. I suppose that a preoccupation with building huge national monuments is the hallmark of a country that had difficulty making transition to a modern nation state. Across the river were the high-rise buildings under the glaring lights that were built from the 1990s onward. Waitan along the Huangpu River used to be a territory leased by the European imperialist countries from the 1850s onward, where the imperialist powers struggled to win the Chinese market. The buildings that I was watching were the byproducts of that struggle. Even though Shanghai had already grown into one of the top 5 cities in the world as early as in the 1920s, a majority of the Chinese were treated with contempt, as indicated by the signs that read: 'No Chinese or Dogs Allowed.' Come to think of it, the Chinese were not alone. The imperialists looked down on all Asians. Since the victory in the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese have also looked down on the Chinese and the Koreans as if they were not Asians themselves. Since the Sino-Japanese War, the Koreans have also looked down on the Chinese while shunning the Japanese. This is how we East Asians have regarded one another over the past century. Now that China is rapidly growing into a world-class economic power, how differently are we viewing one another? I think that teaching East Asian history should mean teaching to dispel groundless prejudice and preconception, take an objective view of one another, and seek future-oriented relationships based on respect as neighbors.

'Forgive but Never Forget' : Thinking of the Significance of East Asian History

In Nanjing, we visited the Middle School Affiliated to Nanjing Teachers College. This school had granted special admission to the children of the Korean provisional governmental officials who were in Nanjing during the 1930s. Having risen above the tragic Nanjing Massacre, the school is running the course under the slogan: 'Remember the History and Look at the Future.' The school offers classes titled Japanese Language & Culture, Korean Language & Korean Culture, War & Peace, and History that Opens the Future. And on the anniversaries of the Nanjing Massacre, the school hosts commemorative events such as exhibitions and student essay contests to share the lessons learned with the citizens. The school also encourages its students to actively participate in peace education exchange activities outside the school, such as the International NGOs Conference on History and Peace organized by Korea and the History Camp for the Youths of Korea, China, and Japan. I thought that we should also make the East Asian history course more practical by expanding it beyond the classroom and connecting it to the peace exchange activities of civil societies.
In the afternoon, we toured the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall. I couldn't help but wonder how human beings could commit such atrocities to fellow human beings even if they were enemies to be fought in the war. This massacre is a fact, but Japan is either not admitting it or downplaying it in its description in their textbooks. On the other hand, the Nanjing Massacre included in the Chinese textbooks is described as an atrocity in which the Japanese military killed the 'unarmed' masses. I was told that the purpose of including this description in their textbooks was to help their students appreciate peace by teaching them about the barbaric nature of war and the fact that the war had dehumanized the Japanese military and caused them to commit crimes against humanity. Reading the slogan 'Forgive but Never Forget' posted in the exhibition hall, I thought that the significance of East Asian history education might lie in overcoming the memories of the tragic past and teaching the future generations the horror of war and the importance of peace. The East Asian history textbooks of Korea not only describe the wrongdoing and invasion by Japan but specify that the Japanese masses, separate from the Imperial government, are also victims of the imperialist war. I don't think this description would have been possible without an objective viewpoint that encompasses East Asia as a whole and transcends the simple perpetrator-victim framework.

Reading the slogan 'Forgive but Never Forget' posted in the exhibition hall, I thought that the significance of East Asian history education might lie in overcoming the memories of the tragic past and teaching the future generations the horror of war and the importance of peace. The East Asian history textbooks of Korea not only describe the wrongdoing and invasion by Japan but specify that the Japanese masses, separate from the Imperial government, are also victims of the imperialist war. I don't think this description would have been possible without an objective viewpoint that encompasses East Asia as a whole and transcends the simple perpetrator-victim framework.

East Asian History Education to Show What East Asia Has in Common

There are a few issues among East Asian countries over certain historical facts and their interpretation. Of course, it would be important to explain and teach these issues well in the East Asian history curriculum. But what I think is more needed is to teach about the cultures and traditions formed by each of the countries over the long period of time that they have been neighbors, how those culture and traditions differ from one another, and what they have in common relative to those of other regions. As we live within East Asia, we are quicker to notice differences than similarities in the region and feel that the former are larger than the latter. But imagine that we are high up in the sky and looking down at East Asia as a whole with a bird's-eye view. Then what East Asia has in common would be certainly more noticeable than the minor differences. I believe that this is what we should keep in mind when teaching East Asian history.