Korea Publishers Association Appeals "Do Not Use Children as Tools for Political Conflict"

The Korean Publishers Association: "Do Not Politicize Children's Books"

Baek Hyun-jin, a member of the People Power Party, is questioning during the audit of the Korea Sports Council and others at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee held at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seul-gi] At the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's audit, Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party pointed out that a children's book "excessively glorifies North Korea," prompting the Korea Publishers Association (KPA) to urge an apology, saying, "Do not politicize children's books."

On the 26th, the KPA stated in a press release, "Do not politicize children's books. We strongly regret Rep. Bae's outdated ideological political attack and strongly demand an apology for arbitrarily judging the exhibition and the submitted books based on biased criteria," expressing their position.

Earlier, on the 22nd, during the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee audit, Rep. Bae criticized the exhibition titled 'BOOK(北) Reading Scenery' at Paju Book City, saying, "Among the many books hidden in every corner of the exhibition hall, there are contents that can be pointed out as highly problematic and worrisome, and there were books scattered throughout the exhibition that could instill ideologically biased perceptions uncritically in children."

In response, the KPA rebutted, "The book mentioned in the audit is 'North-South Unification Fact Check Q&A 30 Selections,' published by Park Young-sa Publishing," adding, "This book does not glorify or praise North Korea but contains content that looks at North Korea from the perspective of young children and encourages them to think about unification issues. It is an educational book for elementary school students."

They further explained, "The authors are composed of education experts such as elementary school teachers and university professors from the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas, and Park Young-sa, the publisher, is a traditional academic and general knowledge book publisher celebrating its 68th anniversary this year," adding, "The exhibition at Paju Book City where this book was submitted is also a private-level cultural exchange event planned to ease tensions in inter-Korean relations. It was designed to broaden understanding of North Korea."

They continued, "The parts Rep. Bae pointed out in the book explain similarities and differences in politics, culture, and society between the two Koreas in a way suitable for children within the context of inter-Korean exchanges," and criticized, "It is completely unacceptable to claim that the book glorifies North Korea by selectively editing only parts that could be misunderstood without considering the overall context."

The KPA added, "The book also contains critical content about the North Korean regime, but those parts were not mentioned at all. Instead, only parts favorable to ideological attacks were excerpted to criticize many books submitted to the exhibition and to call for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's supervision, which is illogical," questioning, "Are we supposed to teach our children, who will build the future of the Republic of Korea, hostility instead of reconciliation between the two Koreas?"

On the same day, the KPA also pointed out that Rep. Bae's criticism resembles past 'book censorship.' They claimed, "Rep. Bae marked 'worrisome contents' suspected of glorifying North Korea with stickers while reading this book and introduced them during the audit questioning, forcing the Director of the Media Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to agree. This behavior is no different from that of censors during the era of publishing oppression, openly displayed by a current lawmaker at the audit."

The KPA requested, "We ask Rep. Bae to correct the factual inaccuracies regarding the issues raised at the audit. We also demand an apology from the Paju Book City Resident Companies Council, the organizer of the exhibition, and Park Young-sa, the publisher of the book," and urged, "Please clarify what the 'books that could instill ideologically biased and incorrect perceptions' found throughout the exhibition are and provide evidence. We still regret that such incidents continue to occur. Stop using children's books as a tool for political strife."