On the 11th, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education issued a statement titled "Correction Regarding Some Media Reports on the Cancellation of Designation of Certain Books as Harmful," clarifying that contrary to reports, only two copies of works by Han Kang, a Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, were discarded at one school.
In the statement, the Office of Education stated, "The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has never designated specific books as harmful or ordered their disposal," adding, "We support schools in autonomously and balanced management of books through the School Library Operation Committees, which include parents, at each school."
It further explained, "Last November, to foster proper values among students, we requested appropriate measures be taken regarding books judged to contain inappropriate content, based on consultations with the School Library Operation Committees," and added, "During this process, we provided links to related articles containing various opinions for reference."
The statement continued, "As a result, schools at various levels selected books for disposal through their School Library Operation Committees, and approximately 2,500 books, about one copy per school, were discarded from school libraries," clarifying, "Among these, only two copies of works by Han Kang, the Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, were confirmed to have been discarded at one school."
Therefore, the Office emphasized, "Reports by some media outlets claiming that the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education designated specific books as harmful and discarded them are completely untrue," and stressed, "The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education will continue to make efforts to enable elementary, middle, and high schools to manage books through diverse opinions for educational purposes."
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