Passed 7 Middle School and 9 High School Textbooks
Publisher Emphasizing Achievements of the Rhee Syngman Regime
Replacing Democracy with Liberal Democracy
Ideological Debates Expected in Academia and Education Sectors
The new approved textbooks to be used in schools starting next year under the revised curriculum have been unveiled. In particular, concerns have been raised that some history textbooks for middle and high schools contain a conservative bias, sparking expectations that ideological debates will reignite.
On the 30th at midnight, the Ministry of Education published the results of the approval review for elementary, middle, and high school textbooks according to the '2022 Revised Curriculum' in the official gazette. Next year, the new curriculum will be applied to 3rd and 4th grades in elementary school, 1st grade in middle school, and 1st grade in high school, leading to changes in textbooks.
Commemorative Stamp for the 50th Anniversary of the Death of Former President Syngman Rhee
In the education sector, the content of history textbooks for middle and high schools has been embroiled in ideological disputes every time the administration changes. When controversies over bias in history textbooks arose during the Park Geun-hye administration, state-issued textbooks were pursued, and during the Moon Jae-in administration, guidelines for writing history textbooks were announced but faced backlash from conservative circles.
The history textbooks for middle and high schools that passed this review come from 9 publishers, totaling 32 titles. For middle school History I and II, 7 publishers passed the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation's approval review: ▲Jihaksa ▲MiraeN ▲Liber School Co., Ltd. ▲Visang Education ▲Haenam Edu ▲Cheonjae Textbook ▲Donga Publishing. For high school Korean History I and II, 9 publishers passed the review: ▲Donga Publishing ▲Visang Education ▲Jihaksa ▲Liber School Co., Ltd. ▲Haenam Edu ▲Korea Institute for Academic Achievement Evaluation ▲Cheonjae Textbook ▲Seemas Co., Ltd. ▲MiraeN.
Among these, the textbook from the Korea Institute for Academic Achievement Evaluation, which passed the approval for the first time this time, is evaluated as describing modern history from a conservative perspective. According to the education sector, unlike other textbooks that describe the Syngman Rhee administration as a 'dictatorship,' this publisher uses the term 'long-term rule' and emphasizes only achievements. It is also reported that the expression 'liberal democracy' was used instead of 'democracy,' which has been used in progressive academia. The textbook cover includes an illustration of the Yeonpyeong Island shelling incident, which is seen as a potential source of historical controversy.
The approved textbooks will be displayed in schools starting from the 2nd of next month. Through textbook councils, teachers and students will select candidate textbooks to use, and after deliberation by the school operation committee, the school principal will make the final decision. Whether each school adopts the textbooks is expected to be decided around October.
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