South Korean Parents Dissatisfied With Education System
By Jason Strother
Seoul
18 December 2008
While most South Korean high school graduates are enjoying their winter vacation, others will be hitting the books. Students who do not fare well on university entrance exams enroll in cram-schools, where they study seven days a week, for 50 weeks straight. Despite all the time and money spent on extra schooling, many South Korean parents are not satisfied with the country's education, and they make great efforts to have their children study abroad.

South Korean students cheer for their seniors' success in College Scholastic Ability Test in front of exam hall in downtown Seoul, 13 Nov 2008
Most of the Etoos Academy's 150 students spend their days in the library, squeezed into cubicles and surrounded by books. Students like 19-year-old Kim Hong Seop wake up at six and study until midnight. Even though he does not get much sleep, he says studying in this cram school is worth it.

At first it was really difficult here, Kim says, but as time went by he got used to it and the school has really helped him study.

The students at Etoos did not score high enough on the national university entrance exam to enter their top choice for college. So they are studying to re-take the test.

The school's director, Lee Seung Ho, says parents are willing to pay $20,000 to enroll their children in his school.

Lee says students in South Korea have to pass this test to go to university. Getting into a university lifts their social standing and helps them get good jobs.

In South Korea, admission into a prestigious university is not only an accomplishment for students, but also reflects on their families.

Education here is rigorous, particularly in secondary school, where students are expected to be in class or exam schools for more than eight hours a day.

But while students receive a high quantity of education, many critics say the quality is low.

International rankings of higher education compiled by the World Economic Forum put South Korea in 60th place.

Another survey, conducted by Switzerland's International Institute of Management Development, places young South Koreans in the bottom half of its list of university graduates prepared to work in a competitive economy.

Tom Coyner, president of the consulting firm Soft Landing Korea in Seoul, says tests that rely on multiple choice questions, like the university entrance exam, do not encourage students to think critically. He says that is one reason South Korean schools place low on some international rankings.

"There is this need to not waste time looking at other possible answers or issues, but to only focus on consistently choosing the one correct answer on the test and this mentality continues on into the university system," said Coyner.

Conyer says many families see the flaws in the education system and prefer to send their children to school abroad. This also helps them become fluent in English, which is seen as essential for business success.

Tens of thousands of South Korean children are sent overseas to go to secondary school or university, at great cost. In many cases, their mothers go with them, leaving fathers at home working.

But to avoid the struggle of getting visas and to avoid high tuition fees for international students, some parents go to great lengths to get their children foreign passports.

Thirty-one-year-old Jess just returned home to South Korea from the United States territory of Guam, where she gave birth to a baby girl. Being born on Guam automatically means her daughter can have U.S. citizenship.

Jess says she and her husband do not want their child to go to school in South Korea.

"We don't like the Korean education system, because it's a lot of study, study, study, study. Children, they don't know what to do, they are like robots. We think the American education system is better than Korea," said Jess.

There are dozens of so-called birth tour agencies that help mothers like Jess travel to the U.S. to have their babies. And since South Koreans no longer need visas to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days, more pregnant Korean women are expected to take this type of trip. Taking this trip now will mean their children do not have to spend years of their lives in cram schools later.






Outlook]Re-educating the teachers’ union
The best bet for the education workers’ union would be to go back to the pure, sincere goals it had when it first started out.
December 18, 2008
‘The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union is facing hardship inside and outside the organization.”

These were the words of Jeong Jin-hu, the man who was elected to be the union’s leader next year, at a press conference. His statement shows he accepts that the union is facing a serious crisis, and that it needs to change.

But considering all the hardship and pain the organization has gone through, today’s crisis shouldn’t be especially hard. Next year will be its 20th anniversary. For its first 10 years, it was an illegal entity, yet it still carried out protests.

After the union was legalized, it still didn’t see peaceful times for the next 10 years. Based on its past, the teachers’ union may be more familiar with hardship than anything else.

However, the hardship it is now experiencing is quite different from what it has been through before.

In the past, when the union pursued democratization and humanitarian education, it didn’t need to feel alone. Even though the group could not speak out publicly, students, parents and ordinary citizens supported it.

But that support now seems to have disappeared. Public sentiment has changed, such that some parents even say they would prefer to send their kids to schools with fewer unionized teachers if they could. Union members have become less active in movements and the group is shrinking in size. It now has to worry about its very survival.

So how should the teachers’ union change?

People often say that its best bet would be to do as it did when it first started out. Going back to the pure, sincere goals of the beginning cannot be a bad option.

Jeong agrees. He has been appealing to members of the union to work together according to the resolution that the group made when it was first established. The foundation declaration said that the union should not fear outside pressure, but only the innocent smiles and shining eyes of children. The union members made a resolution to do what they knew was right for their pupils. Even after 20 years, this resolution has not been tarnished, and is still powerful.

However, it’s hard to shake off the worry that as the organization tries to go back to its old values, it will also fall back into its old methods of protest. As the group has itself admitted, it resorted to militant demonstrations as a means of getting its point across in the past. Such protests paved the way for the democracy and educational system we know today, but at the same time, the union lost the support of the people for the same reason.

It is now time for the group to rethink its protest methods. It must make a new beginning. It needs to strike out on a second round of its drive for humanitarian education and seek new ways of promoting its movement.

The people understood and accepted that the union had to use hard-line methods in its protests because it was fighting to take a central role in the nation’s school system. Members fought to rescue our education system, which had been degraded into nothing but a servant of the administration. They fought to abandon that role and to take control of what the nation’s children were taught.

Now, however, they have lost the cause behind the fight. These days, it would be tough to say that teachers are alienated from the school system.

Of course, there must be some reasons for teachers to argue that the same state of alienation exists. But a majority of our nation’s educators now indeed have a central role in the education system. Teachers, not the government or its policies, are regarded as responsible if the system begins to fail.

If the union keeps blaming the government for problems in our education system and continues to fight against the education authorities in order to win more benefits for themselves, it will never win the people over.

There are still many structural flaws in our education system, but the teachers and education workers’ union must take responsibility for those flaws as the central participant in the Korean education system. The union members fought hard to gain that responsibility, and now it has to shake hands with former enemies and brainstorm with them to improve education for the next generation.

Those who condemn the teachers and education workers’ union for harming our education system must help the union make a new start. They shouldn’t mistakenly believe that unveiling the flaws of the union is the same as revealing their own good points.

Infighting within the education field brings down every participant, and therefore the whole system. We must begin a discussion that will help us rediscover our passion for education.


*The writer is a professor of education at Chung-Ang University. Translation by the JoongAng Daily staff.

by Gahng Tae-Joong






좌편향 교과서 수정 불복 유감스럽다
좌파 성향에 편중됐다는 비판을 받아오던 고교 현대사 검인정 교과서 내용 중 203곳이 수정돼 내년부터 보급된다고 한다. 좌편향 교과서로 가장 논란이 심했던 금성출판사 발행 교과서가 73건으로 가장 많이 수정됐다. 지난 10년간 김대중 정권 시절은 김영삼 정권의 과오를 비판하고 자기 정권의 치적을 홍보하는 내용으로, 노무현 정권 시절은 좌파에 편향된 내용으로 교과서 내용을 수정해 물의를 빚어 왔는데, 일부 교과서의 좌편향은 도가 지나쳤다.

좌편향이 가장 심한 금성출판사의 교과서 내용 중 일부를 살펴보자. 광복 이후 분단의 책임에 대해 미국의 책임이 더 크다고 하고, 미군과 소련군의 포고령을 비교해 보면 소련군은 해방군의 성격이 크고 북한 주민이 세운 건준을 인정했으며 김일성의 집권을 인정했기 때문이라고 기술했다. 북한은 이미 1947년 인민군을 창설하고 인민위원회를 전국적인 규모로 조직해 사실상 정부를 수립한 상태였음에도 위 교과서는 1948년 이승만의 발언과 남한 단독 선거를 들어 분단의 책임을 대한민국에 돌리고 있다. 위 교과서는 박정희 정권의 경제개발에 대해서는 혹독한 비판을 가하면서 북한의 주체사상이나 김일성 정권에 대해서는 그러한 비판의 기준을 들이대지 않아 이중 기준을 드러냈다.

이러한 내용은 1980년대 이후 한국 사회를 풍미한 브루스 커밍스 등의 수정주의 사관이나 민중사관에 입각한 연구 결과를 반영한 것이다. 그러나 소련 붕괴 이후 소련 정부의 문서 등 많은 공산권 자료, 미국 정부의 비밀해제 문서 등의 실증적 자료를 바탕으로 1980년대 수정주의 사관에 입각한 현대사 학설에 많은 비판이 가해져 왔다. 그러한 상태에서 위와 같은 내용들이 아직 인격이나 가치관 형성이 성숙하지 못한 고등학생들에 대한 교과서에 그대로 실리게 된 데 대해 많은 우려와 비판이 있었다.

이번 교육과학기술부의 수정 지시는 때늦은 감이 있지만 올바른 방향이라고 본다. 일본의 교과서 파동에 대응하기 위해 검인정 교과서 제도를 도입하는 것을 기화로 좌파 편향적인 내용을 고교 현대사 과정에 넣은 것 자체가 문제라 하지 않을 수 없다. 그런데 금성출판사 교과서 저자 5명이 금성출판사를 상대로 서울중앙지법에 교과서 수정금지 가처분 신청을 냈다. 그 법률적인 근거로 저자들의 동의 없이 일부 내용을 수정한 것은 저작권법 제13조 제1항의 저작물의 동일성을 훼손하는 것, 학문의 자유와 교육의 자주성을 침해하는 것이라는 점 등을 들고 있는 것으로 판단된다.

하지만 저작권법 제13조 제2항은 초•중•고등학교의 교육 목적상 부득이하다고 인정되는 범위 안의 표현 변경은 동일성 유지권의 예외 사유로 들고 있고, 교과용 도서에 관한 규정 제26조는 교육과학기술부장관이 교과용 도서의 내용을 수정할 필요가 있다고 판단할 경우 검인정 교과서는 발행인 또는 저자에게 수정을 지시할 수 있다고 규정하고 있다. 따라서 저자들의 주장은 설득력이 약하다.

저자들은 또 이번 수정이 위 규정에서 정한 수정의 범위를 벗어난 것이라고 주장하고 있다. 그러나 위 규정 제2조의 ‘개편’ ‘수정’의 정의에 따르면, 이번 수정이 교육과정의 전면개정이나 부분개정으로 총 쪽수의 2분의 1 이상을 변경하는 것도 아니므로 개편에 해당하지도 않는 만큼 이 주장 역시 근거가 없다고 봐야 할 것이다. 학문의 자유는 대학이나 교수들이 개인적 연구 및 그 발표에 적용돼야 하는 것이지, 고등학교 교과서를 저술하면서 적용할 것은 아니다. 이번 ‘교과서 수정’을 계기로 건국•산업화 및 민주화를 동시에 이뤄낸 60년의 한국 현대사 공과를 바르게 평가해 자라나는 청소년들이 조국에 대한 자부심과 긍지를 가질 수 있게 되기를 기대한다.

[[차기환 / 변호사]]

기사 게재 일자 2008-12-19








• 가처분 신청을 하다 apply for provisional disposition
예문


• Civic groups working with the comfort women who were exploited by the Japanese army during World War II said yesterday they filed for an injunction with the Seoul District Court to prevent actress Lee Seung-yeon`s comfort-women themed nude pictures from being made public. (출처: The Korea Herald)
2차 세계대전 당시 일본군 ‘위안부’ 피해자를 위한 시민단체는 어제 탤런트 이승연씨의 `위안부` 누드에 대한 사진, 동영상 인터넷서비스 제공금지 가처분 신청을 서울 중앙지법에 냈다.
• The No. 3 mobile service provider, in response to SK Telecom`s legal move against its ads, filed a separate lawsuit last week asking that SK Telecom be barred from offering illegal handset subsidies. (출처: The Korea Herald)
자사 광고에 대해 SK텔레콤이 가처분 신청을 제기하자 후발업체인 LG텔레콤은 지난 주 SK텔레콤의 불법 휴대전화 보조금 지급을 중단시켜 줄 것을 요청하는 별도의 소송을 제기했다.
• The statement came a day after Matsushita, the maker of Panasonic products, filed an injunction with the Tokyo District Court on Monday. (출처: The Korea Herald)
이번 성명은 월요일 파나소닉 제품 제조업체인 일본 마쓰시타가 도쿄 법원에 LG전자 PDP 모듈에 대한 수입금지 가처분 신청을 낸 이후에 나온 것이다.
• It has applied for a court injunction, claiming unfair competition and consumer confusion caused by Maeil`s product. (출처: The Korea Herald)
남양유업은 매일유업 제품이 야기한 불공정 경쟁과 소비자 혼란을 사유로 법원에 ‘불가리아’ 판매 금지 가처분 신청을 냈다.
• An online-based consumer group said it will seek a court injunction this month to halt sales of the 2004 model of Kia Motors Corp.`s Sorento. (출처: The Korea Herald)
한 인터넷 소비자 단체는 이달 중 기아차의 2004년형 쏘렌토 모델에 대한 판매금지 가처분 신청을 내기로 했다고 밝혔다.
• The decision came 11 days after SK Telecom sought an injunction against the advertisement campaign in which the smallest of Korea`s three mobile operators claimed that its larger rival was poaching its subscribers by providing illegal handset subsidies. (출처: The Korea Herald)
이번 법원의 판결은 SK텔레콤이 불법 휴대전화 보조금을 지급해 자사 가입자들을 빼앗아갔다는 LG텔레콤의 주장에 대해 SK텔레콤이 제기한 LG텔레콤 광고금지 가처분 신청을 낸지 11일만에 내려진 것이다.
• In the suits, the Japanese company also sought an injunction against the import and sale of Samsung-made plasma panels in Japan. (출처: The Korea Herald)
소장에서 후지쓰는 삼성 PDP의 수입 및 판매금지 가처분 신청을 제기했다.
• The group of Seoul City officials, law experts and ordinary people also requested the court to order suspension of the project to relocate Korea`s capital from Seoul to South Chungcheong Province until it rules on the petition. (출처: The Korea Herald)
서울시 의원, 법률 전문가, 일반 시민으로 구성된 헌법소원의 청구인단은 헌법재판소의 결정시까지 신행정수도건설추진위원회 활동을 전면 중지시켜달라는 취지의 가처분 신청도 함께 제출했다.
• The group cites rising safety concerns about the carmaker`s flagship sport utility vehicle as the reason behind their complaint. (출처: The Korea Herald)
이 단체는 기아차의 주력 제품인 SUV 차량에 대한 안전 문제를 가처분 신청의 사유로 들었다.







4•3위원회 없앤다고? 이 사진들을 보라

4•3특별법 개정안 부당성 알리는 사진전 '제주공항 활주로도 덮지 못한 진실'

이대암 (blurrytie)





▲ '한나라당 4•3특별법 개정안 반대 도민대책위원회'는 유해발굴 사진전 ‘제주공항 활주로도 덮지 못한 진실’을 통해 4•3특별법 개정안의 부당성을 알리고 있다.
ⓒ 4•3특별법 개정안 반대 도민대책위원회 4•3특별법




4•3관련단체를 비롯해 49개 시민사회단체가 참여하고 있는 '한나라당 제주4•3특별법 개정안 반대 도민대책위원회'(이하 대책위)는 17일, 18일 이틀간 국회의원회관 로비에서 제주국제공항전을 열었다.

이 사진전은 2007년 8월부터 1차, 2차에 걸쳐 이루어진 제주국제공항 발굴현장의 생생한 사진 22점을 전시했다. 대책위가 국회에서 사진전을 연 이유는 4•3특별법 개정안의 부당성을 알리고, 이의 철회를 위한 정치권의 노력을 요구하기 위해서였다.

'제주4․3사건 진상규명 및 희생자명예회복에 관한 특별법 일부개정법률안'은 지난 11월 20일 신지호 의원 등 14명의 한나라당 의원들에 의해 발의되었다. 법률안에 기재된 제안 이유 및 주요 내용은 다음과 같다.

정부 내에 설치․운영중인 각종 과거사 관련 위원회간 기능의 유사•중복을 없애는 한편, 정부위원회 운영의 효율성을 높이는 차원에서 제주4․3사건진상규명및희생자명예회복위원회를 폐지하고 「진실․화해를 위한 과거사정리 기본법」에 따른 진실•화해를위한과거사정리위원회로 하여금 그 기능을 통합하여 수행하도록 하려는 것임.

한나라당은 '효율성'을 내세워 '4․3위원회'의 기능을 '과거사정리위원회'로 통폐합하겠다는 것인데, 대책위 측에서는 통폐합은 곧 4․3위원회의 폐지라며 분노하고 있다. 대책위의 표현을 빌리자면, "절망과 좌절을 넘어 분노하고 있는" 것이다.

대책위는 4․3위원회는 통폐합과 동시에 4․3해결을 위한 고유의 업무를 더 이상 수행할 수 없다고 주장한다. 통폐합의 명분으로 내세워지는 예산절감 효과란 기만적일 뿐이며, 이미 '과거사정리위원회'조차 예산부족으로 신청사건의 30%도 처리하지 못하고 있다고 한다.




▲ 제주국제공항 발굴현장의 사진. 이토록 참혹한 진실이 아직도 땅속 깊이 묻혀있는데 한나라당은 끝내 진실을 덮으려 하고 있는 것이다.
ⓒ 제주4•3특별법 개정안 반대 도민대책위원회 4.3특별법




4․3특별법은 1999년 12월, 국회 본회의장에서 표결없이 여야합의로 제정되었다. 그로부터 9년간 4․3위원회를 통해 진상규명과 희생자 명예회복을 위한 화해•상생의 노력이 차분히 진행되어왔다.

2년이 넘는 조사로 사건발생 55년 만에 정부 차원의 진상보고서가 채택되고, 이에 따른 대통령의 공식사과(2003년과 2006년, 노무현 전 대통령)가 이루어졌으며, 600쪽이 넘는 <화해와 상생>이라는 백서도 발간되었다.

4․3위원회는 아직 추가 신고된 희생자 및 유족(3163명) 심사를 미루고 있고, 이미 발굴된 유해(200여구)의 사후처리와 3단계 유해발굴사업, 신고를 하지 않은 추가희생자(1만여 명 추정) 심의, 평화공원 조성 등 처리해야 할 사업이 산적해있다.

이토록 참혹한 진실이 아직도 땅속 깊이 묻혀있는데 한나라당은 끝내 진실을 덮으려 하고 있는 것이다.

조직 운영의 '효율성'이라고? 이미 누더기가 된 역사교과서를 떠올려보라. 한나라당의 4․3특별법 개정안 발의의 취지 또한 마찬가지이지 않을까. 기만은 끊이질 않는다. 이명박 대통령의 4․3관련 발언록을 살펴보자.

"제주 첫 방문지가 4․3지역이다. 한나라당이 집권하더라도 변화없다. 역사적 평가는 어느 당이 집권했다고 해서 바뀌지 않는다… 4․3은 제대로 평가가 됐다. 평가대로 인정해야 한다. 역사적 교훈이 됐다. 이런 일들이 큰 교훈이 됐기 때문에 도민들도 기념사업을 하고 있는 것으로 알고 있다." - <제주의소리> 2007년 3월 2일

"한나라당 집권 이후 4․3지원 사업기조는 달라지지 않을 것이다." -<한라일보> 2007년 3월 2일

덧붙여 대책위의 박성용 사무처장의 말에 의하면, 지난 17일 임태희 한나라당 정책위원회 의장과 대책위가 면담을 실시했는데 임 의장은 4․3특별법 개정안을 처리할 의사가 없다고 말하면서도 이내 '과거사위원회'의 통폐합 효율성을 재차 설명하였다고 한다. 이 대통령이든 임 의장이든 그들의 말에서 진정성은 찾아볼 수 없다. 결국 반발을 무마하기 위한 비겁한 일시적 술책일 뿐인 것이었다.

자신들의 주도하에 여야합의 만장일치로 제정된 법률을 하루아침에 무력화하려는 한나라당의 천박한 역사인식에 나라는 다시 한 번 분열되며, 누군가는 절규하고 있다.




▲ '반역사적인 진실 은폐 세력을 향한 절규'(좌), '한나라당은 이들의 처절한 절규가 들리지 않는가'(우).
ⓒ 이대암 4.3특별법




60년 전 영문도 모른 채 쓰러져간 이들. 가족친지의 억울한 희생 앞에 하소연은 물론이고 마음 놓고 울지도 못해본 이들. 연좌제의 그림자 하에서 숨막혀있던 이들. 이들의 목소리가 그저 허공으로 사그라지게 해서는 안 된다. 이들의 경고, 이들의 절규, 이들의 함성은 울려퍼져야 한다.

"4․3특별법은 수만 명의 억울한 죽음과 파탄의 역사를 회복하려는 제주도민들의 피와 눈물이 스며든 법안입니다. 이번 사진전은 4․3의 진실을 덮으려는 몰역사적인 세력에게 보내는 억울한 영령들의 준엄한 경고입니다. 땅속보다 더 깊은 한을 품고 있던 유족들의 절규입니다. 한나라당의 도발을 좌시하지 않겠다는 제주도민의 함성입니다." - 한나라당 제주4•3특별법 개정안 반대 도민대책위원회

<제주4.3사건 진상규명 및 희생자명예회복에 관한 특별법 일부개정법률안>

발의자: 대표발의 신지호 의원 등 14인
임태희, 주호영, 황진하, 이범래, 박준선, 장제원, 정옥임, 김광림, 나성린, 배은희, 정미경, 박민식, 강성천 의원

제주4.3사건 진상규명 및 희생자명예회복에 관한 특별법 일부를 다음과 같이 개정한다.
제3조를 다음과 같이 한다.
제3조(희생자 및 유족의 심사,결정 등) 「진실화해를 위한 과거사정리 기본법」 제3조에 따른 진실화해를위한과거사정리위원회(이하 “위원회”라 한다)는 이 법에 따른 희생자 및 유족의 심사,결정 및 명예회복에 관한 다음 각 호의 사항을 심의,의결한다.
1. 제주4.3사건 진상조사를 위한 국내외 관련 자료의 수집 및 분석에 관한 사항
2. 희생자 및 유족의 심사,결정에 관한 사항
3. 희생자 및 유족의 명예회복에 관한 사항
4. 진상조사보고서 작성 및 사료관 조성에 관한 사항
5. 위령묘역 조성 및 위령탑 건립에 관한 사항
6. 제주4.3사건에 관한 정부의 입장표명 등에 관한 건의사항
7. 이 법에서 정하고 있는 가족관계등록부의 작성에 관한 사항
8. 집단학살지, 암매장지 조사 및 유골의 발굴,수습 등에 관한 사항
9. 희생자의 의료지원금 및 생활지원금의 지급결정에 관한 사항
10. 그 밖에 진상규명과 명예회복을 위하여 대통령령으로 정하는 사항

부 칙
제1조(시행일) 이 법은 공포 후 3개월이 경과한 날부터 시행한다.
제2조(사무이관 등에 따른 경과조치)
① 이 법 시행 당시 제주4.3사건진상규명및희생자명예회복위원회의 소관 사무는 제3조의 개정규정에 따른 진실화해를위한과거사정리위원회가 이를 승계한다.
② 이 법 시행 당시 종전의 제주4.3사건진상규명및희생자명예회복위원회의 행위와 제주4.3사건진상규명및희생자명예회복위원회에 대한 행위는 제3조의 개정규정에 따른 진실화해를위한과거사정리위원회의 행위 또는 진실화해를위한과거사정리위원회에 대한 행위로 본다.
제3조(공무원 등에 관한 경과조치) 이 법 시행 당시 제주4.3사건진상규명및희생자명예회복위원회의 소속 공무원 및 직원은 제3조의 개정규정에 따른 진실화해를위한과거사정리위원회의 소속 공무원 및 직원으로 본다.










History Textbook Revision Completed

By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter

High school students will learn more about the North Korean society and regime but less about pro-Japanese traitors during Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945) and business tycoons from next year.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology made public Wednesday its final revised version of its high-school history textbook, in which 206 corrections were made. It said the revised textbook passed the screening committee for distribution to schools next month.

The rewrite was made following the Education Ministry's instruction to rewrite 41 incidents ― 33 in textbooks published by Kumsung, and the others in textbooks of four other publishers. The government has demanded the rewriting of what it calls the left-leaning description of previous administrations, the North Korean regime and relations with the United States.

Kumsung rewrote 73 cases, followed by Joongang, Doosan and Chunjae publishers who made 26-40 corrections each.

One revision regarded a U.S. Army's decree during its administration of Korea from 1945 to 1948. The new textbook described it as ``a delivery of messages Korean citizens needed under the reality of the military administration.'' However, on a Soviet Union decree, the textbook noted that it was ``propaganda of their ideology through eloquent vocabulary.''

It also scrapped some of the phrases that were seen as friendly to the North.

A passage introducing a North Korean boy with the goal of going to university and becoming a labor party staff member was scrapped. Instead, the following description was added: ``Following graduation from middle school, one could go to university, serve in the military or get a job. However, only 10 percent manage to receive higher education and one cannot choose an occupation or workplace.''

The new textbook also illustrates North Koreans' eroded confidence in communism. Added in the textbook is the following sentence, ``After the North suffered from severe economic difficulties in the late 1990s, popular belief in the North Korean regime's ideology was called into doubt.''

While for pro-Japan collaborators people were dubbed as traitor not purged following liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the new book said ``Punishment for such people was not fully meted out.''

It also put a greater focus on the positive side of tycoons. Phrases highlighting the side effects of former President Park Chung-hee's New Community Movement for modernization and industrialization through the 1960s and 1970s were played down.

Descriptions toward unification changed dramatically. ``The June 15 inter-Korean summit in 2000 ignited nationwide craving for unification'' was rewritten to ``The two Koreas held a summit on June 15, 2000.''

However, those textbooks still have a way to go to be used in classrooms. Five of the textbook's authors filed a suit against publishing firm Kumsung Monday for the publisher's attempt to modify content, which they claim goes against copyright law and infringes upon academic freedom as stipulated in the Constitution.

bjs@koreatimes.co.kr





Text firms change history against will of authors
December 18, 2008
The conflict continues to rage between authors of modern history textbooks and the administration as the government officially approved revisions made to the texts by publishers, without the permission of some authors.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said yesterday it granted the revised texts final approval after six publishers made 206 changes. The changes included 53 revisions made in response to controversial guidelines issued by the ministry on Oct. 30. Some of the authors refused to follow the guidelines, but the publishers went ahead with the revisions anyway, under pressure from the government.

Kumsung Publishing, whose textbook was deemed the most problematic for its alleged leftist views, made all 38 changes sought by the ministry, despite protests from the authors. Earlier, the writers brought the case before the Seoul Central District Court to try and prevent the firm from modifying the text; it is still pending.

“If the court upholds the appeal, Kumsung Publishing will have to sell the current version of the textbook next year without revision,” said Hong Soon-kwon, a Dong-A University history professor and one of the six authors of the Kumsung textbook. “If the court rejects the appeal, we will file a lawsuit against the government and Kumsung Publishing.”

Doosan Corp., Daehan Printing and Publishing, Chunjae Education, Joongang Institute for Better Education and Bobmunsa all made changes to their texts.

The debate started after six associations, including a forum established by the New Right Union and a group composed of the defense and unification ministries and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others, asked the Education Ministry to get the texts modified. They claimed some books denied Korea’s legitimacy and hurt the country’s national pride.

The changes made by the publishers include parts that described the Allied Forces’ victory in World War II as resulting in both Korea’s liberation from colonial rule and the division of the peninsula.

Among many revisions, Kumsung changed one section that used to read, “Korea’s liberation from Japan... was the starting point of the ordeal for real independence,” into: “Though liberation was not the starting point of real independence, it was a very historic moment.”

“The modifications were made without democratic procedures and I, as a history teacher, feel very sad,” said Yoon Jong-bae, head of the Association of Korean History Teachers.


By Limb Jae-un Staff Reporter [jbiz91@joongang.co.kr]




History Textbook Writers Sue Publisher Over Changes


Kumsung Publishing drew the ire of modern history textbook authors Monday when it announced it would bow to a request for corrections by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. The writers on Monday filed for an injunction to protect their copyright.
The conservative Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations has warned of a nationwide campaign against editors and publishers of textbooks accused of leftwing bias who refuse to correct parts that allegedly question the legitimacy of the republic.
Five writers of Kumsung textbook, including Kim Tae-woong, a professor of history education at Seoul National University, said the recommendation by the ministry goes well beyond the scope of regulations. "Making corrections in the textbooks without the consent of the writers violates their copyright," they said in a statement. But Kumsung CEO Kim In-ho said the company would press on with the corrections as recommended by the ministry.
(englishnews@chosun.com )





Writers declare they will stop work on Kumsung history textbook
If the Education Ministry’s request for textbook revisions is not withdrawn in a week, writers will take action




Ten professors and schoolteachers currently writing Kumsung Publishing Company’s new history textbook, to be used in middle schools from 2011, announced Wednesday that they would halt the writing of the textbook if Kumsung does not withdraw its policy of accepting the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s directions for revision of the textbook “A Modern and Contemporary History of Korea.”
The writers, including Kim Hyoung-chong, a lead writer and Seoul National University professor of Asian history, and Lee Seong-ho, a teacher at Seoul’s Baemyeong Middle School, sent an open inquiry Wednesday to Kumsung Publishing President Kim In-ho. The document stated, “If there is no announcement by December 17 that the textbook revisions are withdrawn, we will take it to mean that there is no intention of protecting the writer’s copyrights and we will halt the writing work.” The writers signed a contract with the publishing company in July 2007 and have been working on writing the textbook for over one year.
Lee explained, “We have redoubled our efforts, with the thought that there is all the more need to make good textbooks at times like these. While think the government was most at fault, we were more concerned that our actions would make Kumsung the target of attack.” But concerns that the efforts of the writers could not be protected and that the textbook could be changed to suit the palate of the administration increased, and the writers made the determination to halt the writing, Lee said.

Korea National University of Education history education professor Kim Han-jong, another lead writer of the Kumsung textbook, also declared in October that he was halting writing efforts for the new high school history textbook.
As a result, if Kumsung Publishing complies faithfully with the MEST’s directions for revision, it may be placed in a situation in which it has to assemble a new team of writers after the current team quits. “We are currently discussing what to do,” said a Kumsung representative.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]




Textbook Authors Move to Suspend Modifications

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

A group of historians who jointly penned a modern and contemporary Korean history textbook have filed an injunction with a court. The authors want to keep the textbook's publisher from rewriting its content without their approval.

Five of the textbook's authors filed the suit against the publishing firm Kumsung on Monday, claiming that the publisher's attempt to modify content goes against Copyright Law as well as their academic freedom as protected by the Constitution.

Lawyer Kim Do-hyeong, who led the suit, said, ``The textbook in question has been used at hundreds of secondary schools for six years and no complaint over its contents have been raised so far. But recently some right-leaning activists pressured the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration to forcibly modify what they call `pro-North Korea' and `left-leaning' contents without the authors' approval.''

``This plan is apparently political. Once approved, the government will arbitrarily rewrite more contents in favor of the authorities and it would, in the end, harm the government's own policy to use private textbooks to secure educational diversity and political neutrality,'' Kim said.

The rewriting plan came in response to the Education Ministry's order last month to rewrite 41 cases ― 33 in textbooks published by Kumsung, and the others in textbooks of four other publishers. The ministry has demanded the rewriting of what it calls the "politically-left" description of previous administrations, the North Korean regime and relations with the United States. Despite opposition from the authors, the publisher accepted the government's call to remove ``left-leaning'' content from the history textbook.





President Lee: S. Korea's conservative leader objects to how history is taught.
ROBERTO CANDIA/AP

Korea's history: What text should high-schoolers read?
Conservatives want to revise high-school texts that they say are dominated by a leftist outlook.
By Donald Kirk | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the December 1, 2008 edition
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SEOUL, South Korea - Scholars and bureaucrats here are debating modern Korean history in a dispute that epitomizes differences between Korean leftists and conservatives.
At stake is whether the government should order the authors of textbooks used in secondary schools throughout the country to revise them in line with the conservative outlook of President Lee Myung Bak and his top aides as well as the Defense Ministry.
Foreign as well as Korean intellectuals have risen to the defense of the textbook authors in a statement signed by more than 660 scholars, 112 from overseas.
"It is of grave concern," says the statement submitted to the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, "that the current attempt to revise history textbooks appears to be driven by a specific political agenda to homogenize history textbooks, as demanded by the 'New Right' and parts of the governing group."
The statement charges that the ministry would allow "only one historical interpretation" – an approach that "leads to the repression of academic freedom in research and publication."
Chu Chin O, author of one of a half-dozen disputed textbooks and leader of a committee of textbook authors, says the government wants to put a positive spin on the country's often controversial history. "They want us to praise dictators," he charges, citing a request from the defense ministry "to rewrite passages on Chun Doo Hwan," the general who seized power after the assassination of the long-ruling Park Chung Hee in October 1979. Mr. Chun was later convicted for ordering the brutal suppression in May 1980 of a revolt in Kwangju in which 200 young people died. (Editor's note: The wrong name was given for the man convicted of suppressing the Kwangju massacre.)
Ministry officials say the reason for revisions is that authors distorted events after former President Kim Dae Jung, in 2003, authorized privately written versions in place of official texts.
The ministry has ordered specific changes in a textbook entitled "Modern – Contemporary History of Korea" – and is expected to mandate revisions in several others.
Underlying the ministry's criticism is the sense that the books are far too critical of the country's leadership after the time of the Japanese surrender on Aug. 15, 1945.
Conservatives believe the books tend to overlook the economic "miracle" of the nation's rise from the devastation of the Korean War while focusing on the dictatorial excesses of a series of leaders beginning with the country's first president, Rhee Syngman.
"Current textbooks lack positive evaluation of Korea's success in economy and democracy," the ministry said in written response to questions.
In view of the influence of textbooks on "the values of our country," the response goes on, passages "that hurt the legitimacy of the establishment of Korea will be corrected or amended."
Some academic figures see a desire on the part of the conservative president, Mr. Lee, to reverse teachings inculcated during Kim Dae Jung's presidency.
"They're blaming the leftists for troubles," says Charles Armstrong, a history professor at Columbia University, and calling for "a much less critical view of the United States."
Mr. Armstrong, a signer of the statement, concedes that "it's probably true" that the books gloss over the Korean War, covering it only briefly and playing down the North Korean role.
The books in general focus on the democratization movement, giving the impression of a national struggle against foreign oppressors, including the country's American ally.
"There's room for debate about the Korean War," says Armstrong, "but foreign scholars are worried this has become a fait accompli."
Henry Em, a visiting professor at Korea University who also supported the statement to the government, says the debate over how history is presented focuses on the occupation of Korea by American troops for three years after the Japanese surrender in 1945.
Conservatives object to emphasis on the raising of "the Stars and Stripes" in place of the "Japanese imperial flag" over the central capitol building after the Japanese surrender – a portrayal, they say, that suggests one "occupation" power was replacing another. The ministry in particular disputes the inference that the Japanese surrender was "the starting point of the ordeal to achieve autonomy and independence."
The Education Ministry "finds it problematic that national division is talked about simply as a result of external pressure," says Mr. Em, rather than holding the North Korean Communists "primarily responsible."
Then there's the word "dictator," used to describe Mr. Rhee, who ruled from the founding of the government in 1948 until his ouster in April 1960. The term is also applied to Park, who seized power in May 1961 and ruled for more than 18 years.
"They would like to emphasize economic development and modernization in the context of the cold war," says Em. Conservatives argue that the books pay little heed to the realities of the cold war, the standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union, or the hostility between the US and China, whose "volunteers" rescued North Korea from defeat by US and South Korean forces.
The fact is, Em observes, defending the tone of the books, that the Rhee, Park, and Chun regimes were "authoritarian."
Rather than come down in favor of one viewpoint or the other, however, Em sees the issue in terms of academic freedom. He argues that "there should be a choice" under which schools and teachers can select texts free of central directives, ideally offering a range of perspectives.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1201/p07s02-woap.html




Education Ministry document reveals specific textbook revision orders
Kumsung Publishing ordered to revise 33 points in its version of controversial high school history textbook




It has been confirmed that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology ordered Kumsung Publishing Co. to revise 33 points in its version of the high school history textbook “A Modern and Contemporary History of Korea.” Kumsung is just one of the five textbook companies to whom the ministry sent its “request” for revisions and at issue here is the question of just how far the ministry can go in demanding revisions in the face of objections from historians, the textbook publishers and the textbook writers themselves.
According to a document obtained by The Hankyoreh yesterday, the ministry ordered Kumsung to make revisions to 38 points in the text in a letter sent on October 30. The textbook writers replied they would revise 10 of the 38 points. The ministry then asked Kumsung to make revisions to 33 points in the text -- 28 points from the original request and 5 other points the ministry had found to be insufficient.
The demand for revisions has come largely from the conservative New Right group Textbook Forum. The ministry, responding to the group’s demands, asked that the following sentence on page 253 of the Kumsung textbook be revised: It became difficult for our people to build a new country in the way we wanted. The ministry asked that the sentence be revised to read: We failed to play a leading role in building a nation of unified people because we were unable to repulse Japan with our own strength.
The ministry has also called for revision of this sentence, which appears on page 261 of the text: As the first joint committee between the United States and the Soviet Union was suspended, Syngman Rhee soon called for the South to establish its own government. Citing concern for the possibility of a misunderstanding about who is responsible for the division of Korea, the ministry ordered Kumsung to delete the word “soon” and add this sentence: However, North Korea had already launched its own, de-facto government. Textbook writers, however, refused to make the change, saying that adding the sentence to this part of the text is out of context “because another part of the textbook shows that North Korea established its Temporary People’s Committee in 1946.”

Yun Jong-bae, president of the Association of Korean History Teachers, said, “It would be illogical if (the ministry’s) orders are not labelled as ‘compulsory revisions’ because the ministry pressured the publishing company to make revisions that employ specific language.”
The ministry has been also criticized for the revisions it is ordering. Responding to a demand for revision from the Ministry of Defense, the ministry had originally asked the textbook writers to add a “so-called” in front of the phrase “democratic reform” in the following sentence from page 265: In the name of ‘democratic reform,’ from February 1946, North Korea... The textbook writers again refused to make the change, saying that it would make the expression awkward because the single quotation marks around “democratic reform” have the meaning of “so-called.” According to the ministry document obtained by The Hankyoreh, the ministry ordered Kumsung to change the sentence in order to “help students better understand that the single quotation marks mean ‘so-called.’” However, the sentence looks strange when the ministry’s revision is applied, the writers say, because the phrase then reads “so-called so-called democratic reform.”
The ministry also ordered that the phrase “as a result” be deleted or revised from the following sentence on page 309: As a result, North Korea unilaterally suspended talks, citing the South Korean government’s exploitation of inter-Korean dialogue for political purposes. The ministry says the sentence “could prompt students to misunderstand that North Korea unilaterally halted inter-Korean dialogue because the South Korean government exploited it for political purposes.”
Kim Han-jong, a professor of history education at Korea National University of Education and the main author of the Kumsung textbook, said he was of the opinion that phrases such as “so-called” and “as a result” should remain unchanged because they don’t affect the overall meaning. He says that if the sentences containing these phrases are revised as the ministry wants, they will look awkward. He added, however, that because the ministry has already ordered the revisions, it will be more important for the ministry to ask for a higher number of revisions, regardless of the meaning of individual sentences.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]




Five publishing companies agree to revise history textbooks
Publishing company president says he has no choice but to comply with the government’s orders








» Employees of Kumsung Publishing Co., which acquiesced to a government order to revise their version of a high school history textbook, work on their day off at the company’s offices in Gongdeok-dong, Seoul, on November 30.



In an unprecedented development, the government has succeeded in ordering five publishing companies to revise the high school history textbook “A Modern and Contemporary History of Korea,” a textbook that the ministry had approved for use under the previous administration. The latest in a series of controversial moves initiated by the ministry to pressure educators to use its preferred textbook has educators and education officials claiming that the ministry is trying to gain control over education while implementing a conservative curriculum.
Five publishing companies, under pressure from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, which authorizes and approves textbooks, said they will accept the ministry’s demands and “revise all of their history textbooks.” Previously, when the ministry had asked the publishing companies to revise the textbooks, the companies responded by asking the textbook writers to decide whether they would accept the demand.
The textbook writers objected, accusing the ministry of pressuring the publishing companies, which do not own the textbook copyrights. The ministry’s policy, they said, was unfair because the ministry was trying pass to the companies the political and legal burden of making revisions, canceling the ministry’s prior authorization of the books and discontinuing the books’ publication. If the ministry goes ahead with the revisions, the writers say they will take legal action.

On Sunday, the ministry said that five publishing companies said they would revise the textbooks: Kumsung Publishing Co., Doosan Corp., Bubmunsa, Joongang Institute for Better Education and Chunjae Education. The ministry said it would work with the publishing companies on specific revisions to their textbooks.
On Friday, the ministry reported that it had sent an official letter to the five publishing companies on October 30 requesting that they make revisions to 55 points in the textbooks. Some of the publishing companies responded they would make revisions to 26 of the points on the list. However, the ministry found this unsatisfactory and sent another official letter ordering the companies to revise the remaining 29 points on the list as well as other points they had found to be insufficient.
In a telephone interview with The Hankyoreh, Kim In-ho, the president of Kumsung Publishing Co,, which was ordered to revise 38 points in its version of the textbook, said, “I have no choice but to regard the ministry’s order for revisions as compulsory under the law. There is no room for other choices.” Kim said, “As the chief executive of a company with some 4,500 employees, I made a painful decision because managing the company has become difficult due to the textbook issue. I have apologized for scarring the writers and will take legal and moral responsibility” for the decision.
Textbook writers, history teachers and historians urged the government to stop pressuring the publishing companies to make revisions and to stop pressuring schools to alter their textbooks, saying that in education, in which students should be taught to become democratic citizens, undemocratic things are happening as though there were nothing wrong.
In a joint statement released Sunday, six writers of the Kumsung version of the book, titled “A Modern and Contemporary History of Korea,” including Kim Han-jong, a professor of history education at Korea National University of Education, said, “Nobody can accept having a publisher unilaterally change the contents of a book that will have the name of the writer printed on it. It violates the copyright law and significantly undermines the writer’s honor.”
The group says they will take legal action, adding that the Education Ministry should take responsibility for its “disgraceful” behavior in pressing for the revisions and its involvement in pressuring high school principals to choose its preferred version of the history textbook.
Yun Jong-bae, president of the Association of Korean History Teachers, said, “As I watch the government mobilize various forces to achieve its goal of revising the history textbooks and getting schools to select different textbooks, regardless of the chaos it causes, it looks like a military operation. My heart bleeds as the government goes ahead like this, even though historians at home and abroad and history teachers and graduate students in the field of history have raised their voices against the textbook revision.”
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]






Schools Move to Discard 'Left-Leaning' Textbook

By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter

A growing number of high schools in Seoul are refusing to use ``left-leaning'' history textbooks of the Kumsung Publishing company, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Wednesday.

Currently, a total of 124 of a total of 241 high schools in the city are using the textbooks published by Kumsung. However, more than 30 schools have cancelled orders to buy the Kumsung textbooks and switched to other publishers for the new semester, officials of the Seoul education office said.

The adoption rate for Kumsung’s history books is expected to fall to 36 percent from the current 51 percent.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has asked Kumsung and four other textbook companies to revise their modern and contemporary Korean history textbooks. Right-wing scholars have demanded the books' authors take out critical notes on the decision by the U.S. and the Soviet Union to put Korea under their trusteeship following its liberation from Japan's colonial rule at the end of World War II.

Conservatives have also said the textbooks should cast a more positive light on South Korea's founding president, Rhee Syngman, and add descriptions of contemporary North Korea that detail its poverty and human rights conditions.

The history textbooks last underwent major revisions in 1997 as part of a liberal drive to set history right after decades of authoritarian rule. President Lee Myung-bak's inauguration in February ended 10 years of liberal leadership. Lee has led the charge to revisit how textbooks cast the narrative of South Korea's modern history.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education recently held a training session for school principals to "set right left-leaning textbooks" and arranged lectures by center-right scholars and professionals for high school students.

kswho@koreatimes.co.kr






[Editorial] President Lee’s role in history textbook distortions





President Lee Myung-bak was said to have strongly reprimanded Cheong Jean-gon, senior presidential secretary for education, science and culture, with regard to the issue of revising the history textbooks titled “A Modern and Contemporary History of Korea” at a meeting of senior presidential aides last week. It is common for a president to scold his presidential secretaries as a way to discipline subordinates and there were even scoldings under previous administrations. In addition to Cheong, other senior presidential secretaries were said to have been severely scolded by President Lee on the same day.
At stake is the way President Lee scolded Cheong. According to a news report by The JoongAng Ilbo, President Lee was quoted as saying to Cheong, “What’s the stance of a publishing company that refuses to make revisions? The publishing company was said to speak of ‘canceling the government’s authorization.’ In that case, should the government shoulder the entire burden? Did you conduct any research?” President Lee seems to have been pointing to a recent remark made by the publishing company in question, in which it expressed its wish for the government to cancel its approval of its history textbook. All of this has come amid increased pressure from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, which demanded the textbook revision, and criticism from the writers who refused to make the revisions.
President Lee’s reprimand indicates why the government is being dragged around by the publishing companies, while still failing to strongly push ahead with the revisions. But as the government requested that publishing companies make revisions in an unfair and illegitimate manner, there was no sense that anything was wrong. The admininstration’s action also contradicts the emphasis it has been placing on law and order since the start of its term.

This is not the only demonstration of President Lee’s unbalanced perception of the textbook situation. In response to a report by Cheong that a publishing company had expressed concerns that the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTWU, Jeon Gyo Jo) may launch a boycott campaign if the textbooks are revised, President Lee was quoted as saying, “What on earth does the government think it is doing? Is the publishing company only afraid of Jeon Gyo Jo, but not of the government and the other organizations?” His reference to the “other organizations” is to the conservative groups claiming that some versions of the textbooks are tilted leftward. President Lee seems to regard this stance as the same as the government. On the contrary, most historians and experts say there is no problem with the textbooks and the controversial parts reflect various interpretations of history.
Yesterday, five of the six companies that published the textbooks raised the white flag of surrender and accepted the government’s order to revise the textbooks. People know who is behind the Education Ministry’s push for the revisions. It will be difficult for President Lee to avoid his historical responsibility as the man who directed the distortion of our nation’s textbooks.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]







[Interview] Lee administration is trying to ‘bury all the new history we have learned’: Bruce Cumings
‘All the new history has been squeezed out of the toothpaste tube by a lot of courageous historians, and there is no way to get it back,’ Cumings says








» Bruce Cumings.



Bruce Cumings is the Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professor in History at the University of Chicago and the author of several books, including “Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History” (1997) and “North Korea: Another Country” (2004).
In an interview with The Hankyoreh conducted via email and published in the print edition of the newspaper on November 26, Cumings discussed his perspective on the issue of history textbook selection in South Korea. The growth of the issue into a controversy has largely been precipitated by the government’s attempts to revise the textbook “A Modern and Contemporary History of Korea” in collaboration with the conservative New Right organization. Textbook authors have since voiced objections to the revisions and educators and parents have voiced objections to reports that the government was trying to pressure individual principals into using the government’s preferred textbook.
Cumings is critical of the administration’s handling of the textbook selection process and was one of the people who signed a statement released November 11 by the Organization of Korean Historians with the support of 676 scholars, 562 from Korea and 114 from abroad. The statement said that the Lee Myung-bak administration’s interference with a school’s ability to choose its history textbook was political and has diminished a student’s right to an education.

The Hankyoreh: How and why did you participate in this campaign? Did you also ask other American scholars to participate in the statement?
Bruce Cumings: I think the vast majority of scholars in Korean Studies in the U.S., Korea and elsewhere think that governments have no business sticking their noses into what historians write, or what responsible authors and editors choose to include in textbooks. Any American presidential administration that did that would be seen as a laughing stock.
Q: The way the government is sticking to the issue of history textbook selection is unprecedented in modern Korean history. Since the launch of the Lee administration, the government’s intervention in the issue has become conspicuous. What do you think about this?
A: The Lee administration is living in the past, still remembering the way Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan operated. It is very anachronistic for politicians to think that they can control history, or history textbooks.
Q: Why do you think this administration is stepping up its offensive against the idea of modern history?
A: After ten years that were truly new and different in postwar Korean history, the Lee administration is trying to turn the clock back, and to deny the enormous progress that has occurred since 1997 under Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo-hyun, in gaining a fuller understanding of postwar history, in furthering reconciliation among people in the South and with the North, and in dramatically changing the attitude of the general population in the ROK toward the North.
Q: One of the keywords they often bring up is “legitimacy.” They think that describing unpleasant events in history textbooks
could weaken the legitimacy of the regime[[[
the elements that brought about Korea's independence.]]] What is your opinion about this?
A: Legitimacy is not something to be gotten by controlling textbooks, or manufacturing an historical line. It can only come from the people, as they come to recognize the correctness and authority of a government. Instead of gaining legitimacy, the Lee administration is acting like an ostrich, sticking its head in the sand at the sound of bad historical news. Even worse, they are acting like the right-wing Japanese, trying to paper over difficult issues while claiming to protect “national pride.” The new history produced in the past 20 years in the ROK, uncovering many thorny and tragic problems, is actually the best path toward a reconciliation among people of very different perspectives and experiences in the South, between the victimizers and the victims, and has also helped the reconciliation between North and South.
Q: How does this kind of interference with history textbooks affect students?
A: Students are seekers of truth, and although they also want to be proud of their country, they have utter contempt for authorities who would deny them access to the best historical information and scholarship. When someone tries to do that, as the ROK did for many decades, the result is that young people think that everything they have heard from the authorities is a pack of lies -- and then they truly lose pride in their leaders and their country. An example is this: my friend Suh Dae-sook proved in his 1968 book that Kim Il Sung was a genuine fighter against the Japanese for a decade after the Manchurian incident, going through all kinds of trials and difficulties -- all scholars know this, and have known it at least since 1968. Yet students were told for decades that Kim was an “imposter” who stole the name of a great patriot. Here is the result: two decades later when Professor Suh delivered a lecture about Kim’s background at Seoul National University, the whole room erupted in raucous cheers! So, it is self-defeating to try to hide the truth from students. Sooner or later, it will come out.
Q: It has been almost nine months since the launch of the Lee administration. Since then, there have been some dramatic incidents such as the candlelight demonstrations. I think you have been monitoring the things Korea has undergone. How do you evaluate the Lee administration as a whole?
A: This administration has made mistake after mistake, and has gotten nothing for it. They cozied up to the Bush administration, the most unpopular in American history (and perhaps in the world), just at the point where Bush was a lame duck. They purposely alienated the North, just as Bush was turning toward engagement with Pyongyang -- and the result was, no one in Washington or in the 6-Party Talks pays much attention to Seoul’s viewpoint. They are now trying to bury all the new history we have learned about the colonial and postwar periods, and this only makes young people want to know more -- they want to know exactly what the administration is trying to cover up. All the new history has been squeezed out of the toothpaste tube by a lot of courageous historians, and there is no way to get it back into the tube. It’s as simple as that: it can never work.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]





Divisive History Book Now Available in Korean




James Palais


The Korean version of "Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions," a work by historian James Palais, was published by Sancheoreom in two volumes on Monday. Palais (1934-2000) was a professor at the University of Washington and dean of international studies at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.
The book, first published in English in 1996, caused heated debate among academics at the time by speaking of the two Korean dynasties, Koryo and Chosun, which lasted from the 11th century until the mid-18th century, as slave societies where the ratio of servants exceeded 30 percent.
Palais also challenged the patriotic theory of “indigenous development,” which holds that it was the development of capitalism in the late Chosun period that led to the modernization of Korea, as opposed to Japanese colonial rule or Western influence.
Palais had a Ph.D. from Harvard University for a thesis on regent Daewon-gun, the father of King Gojong, and taught leading American scholars of Korea such as Carter Eckert, John Duncan, and Bruce Cumings.
The controversial book is more than 1,500 pages long in the Korean version and was translated by Dr. Kim Bum, a researcher at the National Institute of Korean History. He said while it was true that Palais held such views, “he focuses on quite a different point."
Kim said the book is a comprehensive analysis of the politics, economy and society of the late Chosun period based on the "Bangye Surok (The Jottings of Bangye),” a historic text that deals with a realist scholar's plan for a revived and reformed Korean system of government in the era. Bangye was the pen name of the scholar Yu Hyong-won (1622-1673).
Kim said Palais' book “is a very important text based on exhaustive analysis of huge amounts of historical records. The problem is that many parts of the book invited negative interpretations because he uses excessively strict and rigid standards."
(englishnews@chosun.com )





High schools switch history textbooks
December 04, 2008
Faced with an ideological debate over history, dozens of high schools in Seoul intend to switch the modern history textbook they currently use, and schools elsewhere are expected to follow suit. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, 30 to 40 high schools withdrew their order for Kumsung Publishing’s textbook for the coming year. That textbook was deemed the most leftist by the government. Textbook authors criticized the government and local education offices for pressuring schools to switch texts.

“The number doesn’t matter. The problem is that the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education tried to persuade principals of Seoul high schools to adopt a different textbook,” said Kim Han-jong, a history education professor of Korea National University of Education. Kim is also an author of the Kumsung textbook.

The change occurred after education offices in cities and provinces dissuaded schools from using the Kumsung textbook after the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology asked textbook publishers to make changes to their texts.

The Seoul education office gave instructions in early November to principals, school committee members and parents at Seoul high schools under the name of “correcting leftist textbooks.” The Seoul education office also asked high schools to report whether they would keep using the history textbook they currently use or switch to other textbooks.

Kyunggi Girls High School in southern Seoul recently proposed dropping the Kumsung textbook to its school committee but it finally decided to continue to use the textbook due to opposition from teachers.

Kumsung and four other publishers reportedly plan to modify textbooks in line with the government guidelines despite protests from their authors.



By Limb Jae-un Staff Reporter [jbiz91@joongang.co.kr]




[Editorial] Goverment’s distortions of history are no way to overcome the economic crisis





This administration’s attempt to distort history is reaching its zenith. It has issued a general mobilization of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; offices of education in the country’s provinces and independent cities; and high school principals to revise textbooks in a negative direction and for education that glorifies the Cold War and dictatorship. The other day the Education Ministry directed the publisher of one version of the textbook to make revisions to 55 points in the text. It is readying for a fight, invoking its authority to order revisions, something that is already legally controversial, after the book’s authors rejected what were initially just the ministry’s formal recommendations. The law on school textbooks (Article 26) says the education minister “has the authority to order revisions,” but the Korean Authorized Textbook Association is of the view that the ministry does not get to use that part of the law as the basis for issuing orders for “authorized revisions.”
Schools are in states of chaos because of friction between principals and teachers over the cancellation of their selections of the Kumsung Publishing version of the book “A Modern and Contemporary History of Korea.” The schools are following along because of the coercion coming from their local offices of education, which are invoking their authority over appointments and budget allocation, but they are trampling on the system in place for textbook selection and even on educational autonomy, so serious aftereffects are to be expected. Some offices of education are tightening the reigns on their schools by telling them to report on the results of their “reselection.”
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is going ahead with its Special Lectures on Modern Korean History, distorting modern and contemporary Korean history, and is ready to spend 300 million won on it. The lecturers slated for the series include Lee Dok-bok, Ahn Byeong-jik, Ryu Keun-il, men who are either government scholars or commentators with ultra-right views and who do not specialize in history. Schools are being turned inside out because of discord between parents organizations, teachers organizations and the school authorities who are pushing ahead with the plan. Amidst all this, the SMOE is strong-arming schools that have resisted participating in the special lectures into having them anyway.

The “history” the administration is trying to instill in students was well revealed yesterday in lectures by Lee Dong-bok and Gang Wi-seok. During the years under President Park Chung-hee “it was common to have abnormal things happen by being taken away and having hot red pepper water poured down your throat, but if we'd gone a normal route we would not have the Republic of Korea that we have today. Democratic methods are right, but efficiency does not increase,” [one of them] said. In other words, destroying freedom and democracy is okay if it is done for the sake of efficiency. You even heard such far-fetched logic when Lee declared, “If the 38th parallel had not been drawn, the Soviet Army would have taken over the Korean Peninsula, and you might have become just like our fellow Koreans languishing in North Korea.”
The whole country is downtrodden because of the economic crisis. This is not the time to be absorbed with absurd distortions of history and a war of ideology. Looking at the way this administration is behaving, you’d think that distorting history is the way to overcome the economic crisis. The national economy is the immediate problem, but history will record this as having messed things up for the long-term.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]




Textbook Publishers Taking Right Turn

Authors Balk at Publishing Firms’ Decision to Correct ‘Left-Leaning’ Content

By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Textbook publishers have bowed to the government's call to remove ``left-leaning'' content from their modern history textbooks.

An official of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Sunday that five textbook publishers gave the ministry verbal notification that they would rewrite controversial sections of the books.

The rewriting plan was in response to the government's demand for the re-editing of what it called the politically-left descriptions of previous administrations, the North Korean regime and relations with the United States.

In late October, the ministry recommended the private publishers and the textbook authors revise 55 parts of the books for high school students, after collecting opinions from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Unification, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and conservative civic groups.

The authors, however, strongly defied the recommendation, saying that most of the ``controversial'' parts were about minor matters and that the rewriting recommendation was against the government's own policy to use textbooks by private publishers to secure diversity.

But the ministry recently sent the publishers a second call, in which it ``ordered'' them to rewrite 41 cases ― 33 in textbooks by Kumsung Publishing, and eight by four other publishers. The ministry said it was considering nullifying licenses for textbook publication of companies if they refuse to accept the corrections.

Among the 55 sections to be rewritten are negative views on the liberation from Japanese colonial rule and the victory of the allied forces; parts partially blaming South Korea for the division of the peninsula; and a description of the North Korean regime that differs from reality.

But the authors claim the publishers decided on the change without their consent. ``We do not accept the rewrite by publishers at their discretion, which is against copyright and defames us. We clarify that we have not agreed to the revision,'' authors of the Kumsung textbook said in a statement.

``The ministry is responsible for the consequences of the improper revision. We will take legal action if it does not halt the move,'' they said.

The ministry official said, ``It seems that the publishing companies and the authors have not reached a complete agreement about the rewriting. As the publishers have told us that they would reedit the books, the remaining issues, such as copyright, are between the companies and the authors.''

The publishers will submit their rewriting plan officially to the ministry soon, and the government will announce its final position on the revision later this month.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr





Distorting history
December 09, 2008
The Education Ministry’s latest video aimed to celebrate the republic’s 60th anniversary make us wonder if that body is really qualified to teach the nation’s history. Concern is rising that the videos’ politically biased messages distort the nation’s modern history for public school students. Titled “History of Miracles,” most of the clips promote the major accomplishments of past administrations. Meanwhile, it bypasses the rigged elections made possible under former presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung Hee.

What’s worse, the renovation of Cheonggye Stream, led by President Lee Myung-bak during his tenure as Seoul mayor, was one of the video’s main features. The image of the renovated Cheonggye Stream is even featured on the cover of the DVD.

Meanwhile, the country’s democratization, a vital part of its modern history, is nowhere to be seen. The May 18 Democratization Movement in Gwangju in 1980, the nationwide popular uprising in June 1987 and the first inter-Korean presidential summit in 2000 - a cornerstone event in inter-Korean relations - were all omitted in the video.

History should never be skewed by ideology, no matter what.

The video aids distributed by the Education Ministry have the potential to teach biased ideas and concepts about modern history by sugarcoating major events and bypassing past wrongdoings. The latest development makes us wonder whether the Education Ministry has an ulterior motive - to join growing efforts to “correct” history textbook changes made under liberal administrations, which many conservative groups say support the views of left-wing academics. Whether this is true or not, the ministry’s short-sightedness is appalling.

An education authority that is unaware of the importance of objectivity and impartiality in teaching materials should not exist at all.

The Education Ministry said it has no plans to remove the DVDs from schools or re-edit them as they simply used images from KBS or KTV television broadcasts. The ministry also said the segment that said the April 19 revolution in 1960 was a “demonstration” is only footage from a news broadcast at that time. But such a tepid response will not quell the growing public fury. The ministry’s actions, suspected of favoring right-wing academics and activists, are a distortion of historic truth. The ministry should remove all disputed DVDs from schools. Its recent actions only weaken the legitimacy of efforts to correct textbooks that currently lean to the left.





Korean debate focuses on history-textbook content
ASCD WORLDWIDE EDITION SMARTBRIEF | 12/04/2008
Some say modern Korean history should be revised in textbooks, particularly sections that include mentions of President Lee Myung Bak and his aides. "It is of grave concern that the current attempt to revise history textbooks appears to be driven by a specific political agenda to homogenize history textbooks, as demanded by the 'New Right' and parts of the governing group," states a letter to the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology signed by 660 scholars opposed to the changes. Christian Science Monitor, The (01 Dec.)





History text to be altered to paint better picture of South Korea
ASCD WORLDWIDE EDITION SMARTBRIEF | 12/04/2008
History textbooks in South Korea will be changed for the next school year to boost Korean pride and point out negative aspects of North Korea's past after a recommendation from the National Institute of Korean History. "History can be interpreted in different ways by different people. But students should not be confused by textbooks that are at odds with the historical past," the institute said. Korea Times, The (16 Oct.) The Hankyoreh (17 Oct.)




"MB? '전교조 빨갱이가 새빨간 교과서로' 딱 이 수준"
[프레시안] 2008년 12월 22일(월) 오후 07:52 가 가 | 이메일| 프린트
[인터뷰] '징계 철회' 1인 시위 나선 한홍구 교수

[프레시안 강이현 기자]

"너희들 춥지?"
"안 추워요! 괜찮아요!"
"춥잖아! 교장 선생님은 너희가 안타까워서 그러는 거예요~."
"우리 위해서 그러는 거 아니라는 거 다 알아요. 우리는 마음이 춥다니까요."

22일 서울 송파구 거원초등학교 교문 앞은 작은 교실이 됐다. 일제고사 대신 체험학습을 허락했다는 이유로 해임을 통보받은 이 학교 6학년 9반 담임 박수영 교사가 교문 밖에서 수업을 연 것이다. '아스팔트 수업'은 이날로 사흘째였다.

박수영 교사는 교내로 들어갈 수 없다고 말하는 교장•교감에게 학부모와 학생들은 '담임 없는 교실'에 학생들이 들어갈 수 없다며 맞섰다. 학생들은 인도에 옹기종기 앉아 담요를 덮고 수업에 참여했고, 학부모들은 학생을 둘러싸고 바람막이를 만들고 수업을 도왔다. '시설 보호'를 위해 경찰 3개 중대를 부른 교장은 경찰 뒤에 들어갔다가 시시때때로 나와 학생들에게 교실로 들어갈 것을 요구했다.

이날 거원초 앞에서는 성공회대 한홍구 교수도 만날 수 있었다. 부당한 징계에 항의하기 위해 1인 시위를 하러 온 것이었다. 한홍구 교수는 "얼마 전부터 줄곧 '곧 해직교사가 나올 것'이라고 말하고 다녔는데, 이렇게 뜻밖의 일로 교사들이 해임될 줄 몰랐다"고 말했다.

▲ 22일 서울 송파구 거원초등학교 교문 앞은 작은 교실이 됐다. 일제고사 대신 체험학습을 허락했다는 이유로 해임을 통보받은 이 학교 6학년 9반 담임 박수영 교사가 교문 밖에서 수업을 연 것이다. '아스팔트 수업'은 이날로 사흘째였다. 학생들은 추위를 잊기 위해 박 교사가 고안한 'OX퀴즈'에 참가하며 즐거워했다. ⓒ프레시안

"우리나라에서 제일 가는 졸업 앨범을 만들자"

"여러분이 6학년이어서 아직 어린이일줄 알았더니 다 어른이 된 것 같다. 세상이 험하면 철이 빨리 든다."

한홍구 교수는 학생들에게 인사를 건네며 씁쓸히 말했다. 그는 "박수영 선생님은 2003년에 대학원에서 저의 한국현대사 강의를 들었던 학생"이라며 "말도 안 되는 일로 쫓겨났다는 이야기를 듣고 몹시 화가 나 여기까지 오게 됐다"고 말했다.

한홍구 교수는 이어 '깜짝 제안'을 했다. 그는 "어떤 학교에서는 졸업 앨범에서 선생님들 이름을 뺀다는 얘기도 들린다"며 "우리 해직된 선생님들의 반 학생들이 함께 대한민국에서 제일 가는 앨범 7권을 만들어보자"고 말했다. 그는 "가장 뛰어난 사진 작가들을 알아보고 있다"며 "방학 때 즐겁게 나들이도 가보자"고 말했다.

이어 한 교수는 "20년 전에도 선생님들이 많이 잘린 적이 있었지만 여러 학생들이 잘 지켜줬기 때문에 결국 다시 돌아올 수 있었다"며 "선생님을 잘 지켜달라"고 당부했다. 아이들의 환호와 박수소리가 울려퍼졌다.

"수구 세력의 공세는 점점 심해질 것"

"역사 교과서를 비롯해 교육 분야에서 수구 세력들의 공세가 점차 세질 것은 분명했다. 어떤 걸 빌미로 잡을 지는 몰랐지만 전국교직원노동조합 교사들이 표적이 될 것이라고 예상했다. 그렇지만 일제고사에서 선택권을 준 이런 문제로 해직될 줄은 몰랐다."

한홍구 교수는 "왜 하필 전교조가 표적이 됐을까"라는 질문에 "정부가 생각하는 바가 바로 그렇지 않나"라고 일갈했다.

"아이들이 먼저 나오면서 촛불 집회가 시작됐다. 왜 애들이 먼저 나왔는지 고민하던 끝에 우파들이 내린 결론은 '전교조 빨갱이들이 새빨간 교과서를 가지고 아이들을 망쳐 놓았기 때문'이었다."

한 교수는 "이런 판단에 기반한 공세가 내년에는 더 심해질 것"이라며 "전교조 불법화가 목표일 테니 그 과정에서 대량 해직 사태가 일어날 수도 있을 것"이라고 전망했다.

그러나 한 교수는 누가 봐도 무리수를 둔 교육 당국의 처사가 오히려 여론의 역풍을 맞게 될 가능성이 있다고 내다봤다. 그는 "그간 전교조에 대한 인상이 굉장히 왜곡돼 전달되어온 것이 사실"이라며 "그것을 바로 잡는 계기가 될 수도 있겠다는 생각이 든다"고 밝혔다.

한홍구 교수는 그 과정에서 당사자인 전교조의 역할이 굉장히 중요하다고 강조했다. 그는 "이번 사건을 계기로 대중의 지지와 우리나라 교육 현실에 대한 위기 의식을 끄집어내야 한다"며 "전국 교사들의 의견을 묻고, 또 2009년은 어떻게 대처해나갈 것인지 치열하게 고민해야 한다"고 말했다.

거원초를 방문했던 한 교수는 이어 역시 해임당한 설은주 교사가 근무했던 유현초등학교로 발길을 돌렸다. 설 교사 역시 한홍구 교수의 수업을 듣는 학생이었다.

"누구의 말이 위선이고 가식인가"

▲ 학생들은 10~20분 간격으로 수업 진행을 끊고 학교 안으로 들어갈 것을 종용하러 나오는 교장에게 "교장 선생님, 우리 수업하게 해주세요"라고 호소했다. ⓒ프레시안
한편, 혹한 속에서도 이날 '아스팔트 수업'은 1시간 이상 계속됐다. 아이들의 건강을 염려한 학부모들은 바로 옆 성당을 잠시 빌려 오후 12시 10분까지 수업을 무사히 마쳤다.

이날 수업에는 박수영 교사의 학급 학생 30명 중 대부분이 참여했지만 일부 등교를 일찍 했던 학생들은 학교 밖으로 내보내주지 않아 박 교사의 수업에 불참할 수밖에 없었다. 학생들은 10~20분 간격으로 수업 진행을 끊고 학교 안으로 들어갈 것을 종용하러 나오는 교장에게 "교장 선생님, 우리 수업하게 해주세요"라고 호소했다.

30여 명의 학부모 역시 수업이 끝날 때까지 '교실' 주변을 떠나지 않았다. 이들은 무엇보다도 수백 명의 경찰을 동원해 학부모와 교사를 막으려 하는 학교 측의 처사를 납득할 수 없다고 했다. 경찰의 숫자는 지난 17일 첫 출근 투쟁이 시작된 이후 매일 배 이상 불어나고 있었다.

수업 중인 자신의 손자를 바라보던 한 학부모(74)는 교장을 향해 "경찰을 이렇게 들여놓다니, 동네 부끄러운 줄 알아야 한다"며 "교장 선생님이 사임해야 한다"며 호통을 쳤다. 또 다른 학부모(40)는 "어제 교장이 몸이 불편해 병원에 가야 하는 학부모에게까지 전화해서 당신의 자녀만 학교에 들어오지 않는다고 연락해서 어머니가 걱정이 되어서 나오셨더라"며 "그런데 와봤더니 이렇게 많은 아이들이 안 들어가고 있는데 교장 선생님이 또 거짓말했다며 항의했다"고 전했다.

박수영 교사의 반 학부모는 아니지만 두 자녀가 거원초등학교에 다닌다는 한 학부모(39)는 "지난주에 학교에 왔다가 우연히 이번 사건을 알게 됐다"며 "경찰 사이로 도저히 아이들을 등교시킬 수 없어서 오늘 등교시키지 않았다"고 말했다. 그는 "어떻게 초등학교 교문 안팎으로 경찰이 에워싸고, 교사 내에서도 경찰들이 담배를 피도록 학교장이 놔둘 수가 있나"라며 "그러면서 아이들을 위해 이러는 것이라고 말하는 것 자체가 위선이고 가식"이라고 일갈했다.

한편, 학생과 학부모를 향해 "원리원칙에 따라야 한다", "불법행위다"라고 되뇌였던 거원초 교장과 교감은 "어떤 것이 원리원칙이고 또 불법이냐"라고 묻는 기자의 질문에는 황급히 자리를 피하기만 했다.

강이현 기자 (sealovei@pressian.com)


(LEAD) Assembly speaker to invoke arbitration authority to break impasse

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's National Assembly speaker said Monday he will use his authority to arbitrate between rival parties to break an ongoing legislative impasse, a move that may help advance a free trade pact with Washington but trigger more anger from opposition parties.

The parliament has been paralyzed since the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) unilaterally introduced the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) to the legislature last week, with the largest opposition party boycotting sessions and occupying committee rooms.

An ugly brawl took place during the session, with some lawmakers hammering down the door in an attempt to stop the submission of the controversial bill, only to be stopped by security officers who sprayed them with fire extinguishers to break up the scuffle. The opposition filed a constitutional petition to nullify the GNP's vote.

"I will impose compulsory arbitration on the parties if they fail to make peace voluntarily," Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o said Monday. "This should not, and shall not go on."
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said there was "little room for peacemaking."
"The Assembly speaker must not get distracted by the government, the president and his party," said DP spokesman Choi Jae-sung. "There won't be any peacemaking until the ruling party makes an official apology, nullifies its unilateral vote (on the FTA bill) and gives its word not to use its numerical dominance in bypassing opposition parties."
President Lee Myung-bak's GNP, controlling a comfortable majority of 172 seats in the 299-member parliament, is determined to approve the bilateral deal before the end of this year despite objections from local farmers and civic groups.

The conservative party believes the U.S. Congress -- split over pending free trade deals with South Korea, Peru, Panama and Colombia -- will speed up ratification following Seoul's lead. Its opponents call Lee's party "naive" and want to take time and observe changes in Washington.

The GNP said it will keep trying to induce dialogue with the opposition but with a deadline.

"We will seek dialogue until Christmas on Thursday, but that is all that we can offer," said party leader Park Hee-tae. "More than 100 bills must be settled by next week. Please, let's all come to our senses."
Ratification of the FTA deal with Washington, struck in June of last year, has been among the thorniest issues dividing South Korea's polarized political climate, with Democrat Barack Obama's election victory last month intensifying the debate.

Obama has repeatedly stated his negative views on the deal with South Korea, describing it as being flawed, especially with regard to the auto trade sector.

The bilateral deal is the single biggest trade pact between the two longtime allies and is expected to boost two-way trade, which totaled US$79 billion in 2007, by as much as $20 billion in the coming years.

While business groups here want early ratification of the agreement, farmers are demanding sufficient countermeasures for fear they will not be able to compete with cheaper imported products.




(LEAD) Lee indicates sweeping overhaul of bureaucracy

By Yoo Cheong-mo
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak said on Monday that his bid for economic reform and change won't be hindered by the ongoing economic difficulties, urging ranking civil servants to follow his administrative vision and philosophy in weathering the unprecedented financial crisis.

Meeting with top officials of the land, agriculture, public administration and environment ministries over their key policy goals for 2009, Lee warned that some reform-resistant bureaucrats, who gained rapid promotion under the previous liberal administration, are still passive in enforcing his reform and stimulus measures.



"Civil servants have to take the lead (in overcoming the crisis). If some of them fail to keep up with the speed (of reform and change), all progress will be slowed," said Lee.

"Civil servants are required to firmly establish their own state vision so that they can help overcome the crisis and make preparations for the new era. Their unified attitudes will help the nation upgrade its global competitiveness."
According to political watchers, Lee's remarks may be a signal of an upcoming sweeping shakeup of reform-shy ranking officials at major ministries, who are blamed for failing to faithfully carry out the conservative president's reform policies.

Over the past week, all "Grade One" officials at half a dozen ministries, including education, foreign affairs, agriculture and unification, have offered to resign, as the conservative Lee administration strived to further distance itself from policies devised by his liberal predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun.

Following the upcoming replacement of top government officials, Lee is expected to conduct a Cabinet reshuffle early next year to revamp the overall administrative atmosphere ahead of his first inaugural anniversary in February.

Over the weekend, the Lee government announced an ambitious plan to shed 19,000 jobs in the public sector, with 69 major state-run corporations slashing 10 percent to 37.5 percent from their current payrolls in the coming three to four years.

"Economic circumstances are worsening. But we will never slow our efforts for changes and reforms. All civil servants have to join forces to revitalize the economy and implement reforms," said the president.

He instructed the four ministries to execute their 2009 budget spending "swiftly and efficiently," to deepen inter-ministerial cooperation in major public works projects and minimize waste of taxpayer money.

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security reported to the president that the government will introduce a so-called "two-strike out system" for all ranking civil servants above Grade Three starting next year, in a bid to promote a competitive atmosphere and weed out incompetent officials.

Under the system, any officials who rank in the bottom for two consecutive years in the annual job performance assessment will be dismissed. In South Korea, a civil servant's job has been traditionally called an "iron rice bowl" because of its solid job security.

The Ministry of Environment unveiled a plan to create 43,000 new jobs through expansion of basic environmental facilities and implementation of various public projects related to green growth and the fight against climate change.

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs reported that it will spend 65 percent of the 23.4 trillion won (US$18.2 billion) earmarked for various infrastructure expansion projects next year in the first half in accordance with the government's economic stimulus measures.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also disclosed its own budgetary front-loading, allocating nearly 10 trillion won to improve rural infrastructure and create about 32,000 new jobs in the agriculture and food sectors.






(LEAD) Seoul shares end down 0.12 pct on profit-taking

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed 0.12 percent lower Monday as investors took profits, disappointed with the government's delay in easing regulations on the real estate market, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.

Reversing earlier gains, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.36 points to 1,179.61. Volume was moderate at 431 million shares worth 4.54 trillion won (US$3.46 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 435 to 368.

"The Seoul bourse turned weaker as investors' hopes for the government's announcement to boost the real estate market were dashed," said Bae Sung-young, an analyst at Hyundai Securities Co. "A weaker won also chilled investor sentiment."
Hopes of a year-end rally boosted the KOSPI above the 1,200-point mark at one point in the morning session. It was the first time in more than one month that the key index traded above that level.

But investors dumped shares like builders as the land ministry's property deregulation measures fell short of market expectations, analysts said.

Top construction firm Daewoo Engineering & Construction fell 0.4 percent to 9,880 won and its rival Hyundai Engineering & Construction shed 1.8 percent to 59,900 won.

Tech bellwether Samsung Electronics declined 0.72 percent to 486,000 won and chip giant Hynix Semiconductor lost 3.64 percent to 8,210 won.

But top carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.99 percent to 45,750 won on the back of a U.S. auto industry aid package.

The local currency ended at 1,309 won to the dollar, down 19 won from Friday's close, as the local stock index fell, dealers said.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended lower. The return on three-year Treasuries added 0.07 percentage point to 3.88 percent and the benchmark yield on five-year government bonds gained 0.08 percentage point to 4.24 percent.






Samsung Heavy requests limit on oil spill compensation

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Heavy Industries Co. has requested a Seoul court to place a ceiling on the amount of compensation that may be levied in a civil suit launched by victims of an oil spill, court officials said Monday.

On Dec. 7, 2007, some 12,000 tons of crude oil spilled into the seas off of Taean following a collision between an oil tanker owned by the Hong Kong-registered Hebei Spirit Shipping Co. and a barge owned by Samsung Heavy, blackening beaches and fish farms along the west coast.

Samsung Heavy recently filed a request with the Seoul Central District Court to limit the amount of possible compensation from a civil lawsuit filed by some 7,500 fishermen in the region to under 5 billion won (US$38 million), court officials said.

"Compensation for damages requested by fishermen exceed our estimated amount," Samsung said in its request, court officials said, without revealing the specific amount requested in the class action.

Samsung and Hebei both were previously fined 30 million won in a criminal suit ruling, while a number of their employees were given jail sentences. The separate civil suit was filed early this month.

In June, the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds estimated the damages from the Taean spill may reach up to 573.5 billion won from a decrease in tourists and a slowing down of the fishing industry.

odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)









Think tank cuts 2009 economic growth forecast to 1.7 pct

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean economy is expected to grow a mere 1.7 percent in 2009 due to falling exports, a private think tank predicted Monday, halving its earlier estimate of 3.4 percent.

In its latest report on the economy, the Korea Institute of Finance (KIF) said the nation's gross domestic product is projected to grow 0.2 percent in the first half of next year and 3.2 percent in the second half.

KIF's revised projection is the lowest among predictions made by domestic institutions. Last week, the Ministry of Planning and Finance predicted the economy will likely grow 3 percent next year. Early this month, the Bank of Korea, the central bank, projected the economy is likely to expand 2 percent.

According to the report, exports, the main growth engine for the country, will likely fall 6.9 percent on-year in 2009, but imports are expected to sink 13 percent, resulting in a current account surplus of US$19.5 billion.

Consumer spending is likely to grow only 0.3 percent with corporate spending on facilities shrinking 1.5 percent due to the global economic slowdown.

With both exports and private consumption slumping, around 20,000 new jobs are expected to be created next year, far short of the government's goal of about 100,000.

The nation's consumer inflation is likely to hover around 3.1 percent with the key interest rate expected to be cut to 2 percent in the first half of next year from the current 3 percent, the KIF said.







Gov't pushing for large-scale management shakeup in public companies

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- The government is pushing for a large-scale shakeup of senior managers in public companies as part of its efforts to enhance accountability and cut waste, officials said Monday.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said reshuffling and laying off manager-level officials is a necessary step to deal with inefficiency and moral hazards that have been cited in the past.

Public companies make up a sizable part of the national economy and workforce, but have been criticized for weak overall performance and their inability to produce tangible results.

"There are no set timetables, but the shakeup should proceed rapidly, with guidelines having been sent down to individual companies," said an official from the Knowledge Economy Ministry.

For public companies under the ministry, the guidelines call for at least half of all senior managers to be replaced, he said.

Executives at the Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. have tendered their resignations en masse, with other utilities companies following suit.

The farm ministry also said that 19 senior officials at the scandal-plagued National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup) have said they will resign as reform measures are underway to drastically limit the power of the chairman.

The past three heads of the 2.4-million-strong cooperative have gone to jail for corruption, with the last being implicated in illegal kickbacks involving the brother of former President Roh Moo-hyun.

It said the size of Nonghyup's headquarters will be cut by 20 percent, with wide-ranging reform measures to be pursued for the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative and the National Forestry Cooperative Federation.

Other state-controlled companies pushing for shake-ups are the Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail), the Korea Highway Corp. and Incheon International Airport Corp. under the transportation ministry.

The measures to revamp top managerial posts at public companies come as senior officials at the prime minister's office, the National Tax Service, and education and agriculture ministries said they will resign.

The moves are in response to efforts by the presidential office and the ruling camp to tighten up bureaucracies that have been slow to implement measures for change.






FSC to check derivatives for hidden pitfalls
December 22, 2008
Korea’s financial watchdog said yesterday it plans to beef up supervision of derivatives sales by financial firms and strengthen investor protection amid the global financial turbulence. Korea plans to strengthen its monitoring system of the derivatives market by setting up databases and reinforcing information analysis.

The watchdog will also require financial companies to sell customer-tailored derivatives after classifying investors in accordance with their experience and investment propensity, according to the Financial Services Commission.

The FSC said it will make efforts to prevent the trade of derivatives products from posing systemic risks to financial firms by improving regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market.

“It is necessary to strengthen a supervisory system in order to beef up competitiveness in the Korean capital market,” the FSC said.

The move came as the subprime mortgage rout in the United States and the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. have sent shockwaves through the global market.

More of Korea’s smaller firms have been suffering from losses related to currency options known as knock-in knock-out contracts, as the local currency’s weakness against the dollar has snowballed their losses.

Korea is set to implement the new law on capital market deregulation in February 2009. The law is designed to break down barriers separating the securities, futures and asset management sectors and allow brokerage houses to play a bigger role in the financial sector. The FSC said it plans to complete its improvement in areas related to investor protection by the first half of next year. Yonhap





• A local court yesterday awarded 120 million won to the family of a South Korean soldier who hanged himself a year ago while performing his mandatory military service. (출처: The Korea Herald)
서울중앙지법은 어제 군복무 중 목매 자살한 사병의 유족들이 제기한 손해배상 청구소송에서 “피고는 1억2천여만원을 지급하라”고 판결했다.
• The Seoul Central District court dismissed a lawsuit yesterday from a civic activist who sought 120 million won in damages, claiming that years of drinking Coca-Cola has caused him to lose nearly all of his teeth. (출처: The Korea Herald)
어제 서울중앙지법은 오랫동안 코카콜라를 마셔 치아가 거의 모두 빠졌다면서 이에 대해 1억 2000만원의 손해배상을 요구한 한 시민운동가의 소송을 기각했다.
• But Seoul District Court chief Kang Byung-sup and Chuncheon District Court head Lee Young-ae said they were leaving the court as they perceived the selection as a move to force the court toward a more liberal course. (출처: The Korea Herald)
그러나 서울 강병섭 서울중앙지법원장과 이영애 춘천지방법원장은 이번 대법관 후보 제청절차가 보다 진보적인 방향으로 대법원을 강제하려 한다고 우려하며 사의를 표명했다.
• We recognize that the petitioners originally acquired the land in question because its ownership went to Song after a land survey conducted during the Japanese colonial period, said Judge Lee Hyok-woo of the Seoul Central District Court. (출처: The Korea Herald)
서울중앙지법 이혁우 재판장은 “해당 토지가 일제시대 당시에 조사과정을 거쳐 소유권이 송병준에게 있는 것으로 결정돼 송 씨 측이 원시적으로 취득한 점은 인정된다”고 말했다.
• A criminal court yesterday handed down a suspended prison sentence to Rhee In-je, an opposition lawmaker and long-time presidential hopeful, for taking money illegally in the 2002 presidential race. (출처: The Korea Herald)
서울중앙지법 형사합의부는 어제 지난 대선직전 불법 정치자금을 수수한 혐의로 구속 기소된 이인제 자민련 의원에게 집행유예를 선고했다.
• Civic groups working with the comfort women who were exploited by the Japanese army during World War II said yesterday they filed for an injunction with the Seoul District Court to prevent actress Lee Seung-yeon`s comfort-women themed nude pictures from being made public. (출처: The Korea Herald)
2차 세계대전 당시 일본군 ‘위안부’ 피해자를 위한 시민단체는 어제 탤런트 이승연씨의 `위안부` 누드에 대한 사진, 동영상 인터넷서비스 제공금지 가처분 신청을 서울 중앙지법에 냈다.
• The Korean Association of Phonogram Producers, a recording industry lobby group, said it will accept the Seoul District Court`s meditation that suggested online music provider Bugs Music pay 2.22 billion won ($1.9 million) for copyright violations to settle the dispute. (출처: The Korea Herald)
음악업계의 대표적 단체 중 하나인 한국음원제작자협회 (음제협)는 벅스가 음악업계에 22억2천만원의 손해배상금액을 지급하라는 서울중앙지법의 조정안을 수용할 거라고 말했다.
• The Seoul Central District Court ordered three former Daewoo executives, including Kim, and Daewoo Heavy Industries & Machinery to pay 97 million won ($80,000) in compensation to an individual investor. (출처: The Korea Herald)
서울중앙지법은 김우중 전 대우그룹 회장 등 임원 세명과 대우중공업에 대해 개인투자자에게 9,700여만원을 배상하라는 판결을 내렸다.



• Anyone who feels they or their families were victims of abuses or witnesses can lay their case before the committee at its main office in Maekyung Media Center, central Seoul, or 140 affiliated offices located across the country. (출처: The Korea Herald)
자신이나 그 가족이 인권 침해 피해자나 증인이라고 느끼는 모든 국민은 서울에 있는 매경미디어센터에 있는 과거사 정리위원회나 전국에 위치한 140개 사무소에서 신청서를 제출하면 된다.
• The special presidential panel was created to establish truth and reconciliation about the turbulent modern history of Korea, charged with investigating human rights abuses, wrongdoing and atrocities committed by past authoritarian governments and during Japan`s colonial 1910-45 colonial rule. (출처: The Korea Herald)
과거사정리위원회는 현대사의 각종 의혹 사건의 진실을 규명해 진실과 화해를 확립하자는 취지로 설립되었으며 과거 독재 정권과 일제 강점기 시절에 자행된 인권 남용과 유린 행위를 조사할 책임을 맡게 된다.




Japanese exports in record 27% fall
TOKYO, Dec 22 – Japan’s exports plunged at a record annual pace in November with shipments to Asia dropping the most since 1986 as a global economic slump and a surging yen slashed demand for everything from autos to electronics.

While imports fell 14.4 per cent as the Japanese economy languished in recession, the 26.7 per cent plunge in exports was large enough to keep the trade balance in deficit for a second month running. Japan last logged trade deficits two months in a row during a previous spell of yen strength in 1980.

The Japanese currency has surged around 20 per cent against the dollar this year as investors spooked by the global financial crisis bailed out of risky assets and brought funds home.

Shipments to the United States sank a record 33.8 per cent on slack demand for automobiles. The United States is in recession and American demand for Japanese goods has been falling for 15 months, ever since US mortgage defaults started to squeeze global credit markets.

By contrast Asian markets held up for much of the crisis, but are now crumbling at dizzying speed. Exports to Asia fell 26.7 per cent in November. Shipments to China dropped 24.5 per cent, the biggest fall since 1995, on weak demand for semiconductors, digital cameras and other electronic goods, the Ministry of Finance said.

“The drop shows that domestic demand in China for Japanese goods is not that strong,” said Kaori Yamato, an economist at Mizuho Research Institute. The Chinese economy is slowing sharply as exports to Europe and the United States plunge.

Collapsing export markets have slashed Japan’s once politically sensitive trade surplus. The trade deficit of Y223.4bn ($2.5bn) in November was smaller than a median market forecast of Y257.5bn.

“Exports will probably be weak at least until the end of this fiscal year,” said Maiko Noguchi, senior economist at Daiwa Securities SMBC.

“After that there will be some help from fiscal spending (by other countries) but it’s still not clear the economy could recover sustainably.”

The Japanese government grew more pessimistic about the economy for the third straight month, citing rapidly falling output and corporate profits in its economic report for December.

“Economic conditions are worsening,” the government said in the report. It was the first time the government used that expression since February 2002.

The deepening economic gloom at home and abroad is forcing Japanese companies such as carmakers Toyota and Honda to slash output and profit forecasts.

A Ministry of Finance survey showed earlier this month that Japanese corporate profits in July-September fell at the sharpest pace in 6 years.

A Reuters poll showed on Monday the mood among Japanese manufacturers at an all-time low and deteriorating at the fastest pace on record in December.

The Reuters Tankan survey found manufacturers’ sentiment worsened 22 points – the biggest monthly tumble ever recorded – to minus 64 in December, the lowest reading since the survey began in June 1998.

Financial markets did not react much to the data with investors pushing up the Nikkei stock average by 1.4 per cent on relief that struggling U.S. automakers had been granted a $17.4bn government loan.

Naoki Iizuka, senior economist at Mizuho Securities, said the Bank of Japan could resort to cutting interest rates to zero as early as January to contain the slump.

The BoJ pushed its key policy rate down to 0.1 per cent on Friday following the US Federal Reserve, which announced a target rate of between zero and 0.25 per cent, the lowest it has ever taken the benchmark.

The Fed cut last week pushed the yen to a 13-year high.