뉴스레터

Editor's Note: Korea and Japan, and What Happened Between Them, a common history textbook to be used in both South Korea and Japan was published recently by history teachers based in Daegu, South Korea and Hiroshima, Japan. On May 29, 2013 in Seoul, they held a joint press conference on the result of their collaboration. One of the co-authors shared his experience in making the textbook.

On November 24, Saturday, 2012, the two history teachers in Daegu took what they hoped would be 'their last weekend trip for volunteer work' to Humanist Books in Seoul. They would finally see the final version of Korea and Japan, and What Happened Between Them (the title of the Japanese edition is The Modern and Contemporary History of Korea and Japan (学び、つながる日本と韓国の近現代史)), the common history textbook that had taken the Korean and Japanese co-authors seven arduous years to complete, from putting together the final draft through discussion at ten international conferences (six in Seoul and four in Hiroshima) to the editing process that lasted a year and a half to incorporate numerous revisions, including the final ones suggested through exchange of email.

Fusosha's Controversial History Textbook Prompted the Launch of the Korea-Japan Common Textbook Production Team

Back in the spring of 2001, Japanese publisher Hoshuha's history textbook became controversial for its content that distorted history. Both in Japan and South Korea, this textbook was criticized and there were campaigns against its adoption. And there was also a movement to go further than that; in August that year, the representatives of teachers' unions in Daegu and Hiroshima agreed and signed a protocol to make a common textbook that would teach peace and human rights to the students of both countries. It was on September 11 that year that a group of history teachers in Daegue organized a common history textbook project team that would carry out the protocol. On the same day, as you can imagine, they watched the news of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on TV. Ironically, years later when the project came to an end and published its result in South Korea and Japan, it was Northeast Asia being under threat of war that would be headline news for quite a while.

Three years and seven conferences later, the project team published its first result in 2005: Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Aggression in Korea and Korean Envoys for Amity. While describing the Imjin War, this book is really about what happened after the war: the dispatches of Korean envoys to Japan on twelve occasions from the 17th to 19th centuries. Aside from a murder case that occurred while 500 Korean envoys were in Japan for a six-month stay and occasional frictions with the shogunate, this was basically a period of peace and communication based on trust. Trust was also what bonded the Korean and Japanese co-authors together. They trusted each other as partners, and were excited with the opportunity to work on a common history book for the first time, and the prospect of using the same textbook to teach an example of peaceful foreign relations to the students of both nations. And they were rewarded with the honor of 'publishing the fist common textbook' between Korea and Japan.

Agreed on the Principle of Making a Common History Book Covering Modern and Contemporary Periods

The second project took off in 2006. For this project, it was agreed that a common history textbook covering modern and contemporary periods would be made. As the first step, a few principles were laid out and confirmed. First of all, present historical facts objectively beyond nation and people. Second, treat region with importance and adopt the view of the people. Third, keep the focus of history on the life and livelihood of people of the time.

In writing Korea and Japan, and What Happened Between Them based on these principles, the co-authors tried to escape self-centeredness or national superiority, and describe the regional histories of Daegu and Hiroshima. For example, while the existing 'Korean History' textbooks only described the Residency-General, the central office established by Japan in Seoul to take control of Korea, this common textbook described the process in more detail with local focus by including the description of the local offices also established by Japan under the Residency-General in 13 regions across Korea. In describing the March 1st movement which spread to Daegu by March 8th, this textbook told the heartbreaking tale of independent activist Kim Tae-ryeon and his son Yong-hae, who had died during the movement and been buried at a memorial park in Daegu. It also captured the lives of many of Koreans, including the late Mr. Ryo Sang-ho, who had moved to Japan during the occupation. To help better understand the text, the co-authors tried to insert as many photos and illustrations as possible. They included rare historical photos featuring: the construction sites of Minakai Department Store and Sunghyun Tunnel in Daegu; a Daegu District Court's flyer urging Korean citizens to change their names Japanese-style; students forced to fight in war; a wedding of Koreans in Hiroshima; a draft notice for Mitsubishi workers; a membership card of the pro-Japanese Concordia Association in Manchuria; and a panoramic view of the bombed Hiroshima. One particular photo that breaks my heart is of Japanese policemen driving young Korean students out of their school as part of Japan's attempt to close down Korean schools after Korea gained independence from Japan.

The modern and contemporary history of Korea and Japan centered around Japan's war of aggression and colonial rule of Korea. Apparently, however, Korean and Japanese students "don't know much about" the history of the other country, as shown in a survey conducted by the production team to measure their understanding of history. Seventy percent of the Japanese students surveyed answered that they did not know who Empress Min was, and as 31 percent answered that they did not know that 'Japan had ruled Korea as a colony in the early 20th century.' To enlighten those students ignorant of and indifferent to the modern and contemporary history of their countries, this book was divided into four parts, 'Opening and Modernization', 'Aggression and Resistance', 'Colonial Rule and Independence Movement', 'From War to Peace,' and the task of writing each of the parts was also divided up among the co-authors. In their drafts, the co-authors included what they wanted the students of the other country to know about the history of their country. Once written, their drafts were reviewed, adjusted in length, and revised. The final outcome achieved in the process was a literally common draft instead of a collection of drafts written by individuals.

The First Collaborative Publication Without Any Conflict of Differences in Historical Perception

A dozen history books have in written and published before in collaboration between South Korea and Japan or among the three Northeast Asian nations, but this book is probably the first of its kind whose co-authors didn't have any conflict over differences in historical perception between the offender and the victim. The Korean and Japanese co-authors saw the war waged by Japan as 'a war of aggression,' agreed that 'post-war reparation' instead of 'post-war compensation' is the right phrase to use, and described in detail how Japan had "forced" Koreans into labor, the military, and sexual slavery for the Japanese military. The Japanese co-authors, the members of the Hiroshima Prefecture Teachers' Union, were activists of antiwar and peace movement who believed that Japan as an offender must repent of its atrocities committed in the past. And some of them were also active members of the 'Association of Japanese Calling to Bring Justice to Those Responsible for Forcing Koreans into Labor.' We were lucky to have them as partners.

"Not to Repeat the Tragedy of Sending Younger Generations to Battlefield"

For me personally, making this book was a great learning experience. One of the many things I learned is that the Japanese who could be labeled as aggressors are only a small number of imperialist soldiers and politicians. In other words, I learned that a majority of Japanese were also victims of the war of aggression. The Japanese people may still not be exempt from responsibility for the war, but I confirmed that they were not to be criticized. I also learned a lot from the Japanese co-authors; they were taking history and history education seriously, placing emphasis on verifying the facts based on historical records, and teaching their students to shape their own historical views by using the objectives facts. I was also touched by their remark that their motivation to join the project was 'not to repeat the tragedy of sending younger generations to battlefield.' At the press conference on the publication, I talked about rather heavy topics like friendly relations between Korea and Japan, peace in Asia, or overcoming the distortion of history. By contrast, one of the Japanese co-authors gave it a lighter, personal touch by saying that he was very glad that this book connected him to the students of Korea. It was a 'small voice,' but it reverberated. I hope that our book will be also a small voice that reverberates in the hearts of students in Korea and Japan.