‘Discourse of the Nation and the Modern’ Reflected in Korean History Textbooks
Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2002, Vol 3, Issue 1
Abstract
What influences the formation of students’ understanding of history is not the complicated truths or events that are described in History Textbooks, but the main historical contours that are created by the diverse interpretations of basic codes.1 The meeting held in Japan to make a new History Textbook,2 in order to cope with complaints from the Japanese public, opted for a strategy3 of “conceding to provide a more objective description of history, while maintaining the basic framework of historical concepts”. This action can be seen as being nothing more than a cunning measure indicating that these individuals had a clear understanding of what historical education should be focused on. The new History Textbook recently released to the public (Tokyo: Hoososha, 2001) includes the following historical positions: ᇫ The position in which rather than recognizing the crimes and mistakes committed in the past, emphasis is placed, through a distortion of history, on the nation’s innocence and divinity. ᇫ The position in which Japan’s problems are blamed on the internal contradictions within Japanese society caused by the negative influence of other countries (especially Chosŏn, the U.S.A and Russia) or by communism.
Authors and Affiliations
Su-gol Ji
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP26270
- DOI -
- Views 379
- Downloads 17
The Kŭn’gi Namin Faction’s Acceptance of the T’oegye School and the Establishment of the Sŏngho School
Yi Ik was a Confucian scholar and erstwhile leader of the Kŭngi Namin (, Southerners) faction during the 18th century. In this regard, the Sŏngho School, of which Yi Ik was a central figure, constitutes one of the ke...
Analysis of Local Aristocrats (士族) in the Asan Area During the Chosŏn Era as Viewed Through the Sama pangmok(司馬榜目)
Various significant studies have been conducted on the aristocrats who ruled over local communities (在地士族, chaeji sajok) during the Chosŏn era. As part of its efforts to secure the basic information needed to perp...
ROUX, Pierre-Emmanuel, La Croix, la baleine et le canon. La France face à la Corée au milieu du XIXe siècle, Paris, Editions du Cerf, 2012, 462 p
The present volume is an extended version of the author’s master’s thesis submitted to the Institut national de langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO) in Paris in 2007. It sets out to reinterpret the Franco-Korean...
The “Three National Treasures of Silla (新羅三寶)” and Their Transfer: The Symbol of the Unification of the Koryŏ Dynasty
This paper explores the significance of the three national treasures of Silla (Silla sambo) in the history of Koryŏ through analyzing the significance of the Three National Treasures of Silla. There are the three nation...
The Tokyo Trial and the Question of Colonial Responsibility: Zainichi Korean Reactions to Allied Justice in Occupied Japan
This article examines how the zainichi Korean media and organizations responded to the Tokyo Trial and its pursuit of war responsibility. Their critiques of the Tokyo Trial often presented a critical insight from the per...