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agentX
Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Location: Jeolla province
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 Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 6:41 pm Post subject: A Challenge to Korean History Textbooks |
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In the Korean Beat, nov 3rd edition, we find an article about the infamous Korean history textbooks. Lookie here...(bold edits done by me)
http://koreabeat.com/?p=436
| Quote: |
�The World We Learned� is not �The World�
In the last issue of the Weekly Chosun one writer described the efforts of a group of scholars who want to see major reform in the world history textbooks used in Korean middle and high schools. It seems they have a lot in common with this guy.
�In Islam they believe in the god called �Allah God.��
If that sentence doesn�t strike you as strange, then you need to know that in the Arabic Bible �Allah� means �God�. The Arabic word �Allah�, the English word �God�, the Chinese word �天主�, and the Hebrew word �y-hw-h� all refer to the same monotheistic faith. Saying �Allah God� is the same as saying �God God�, so it could be misunderstood as being one god among many in a polytheistic faith. But many current textbooks still write �Allah God�.
These books, from which we learned and are still learning �Global Studies�, are being criticized. �The world we learned about in our books is not really the world. It was only concerned with Europe, the US and Northeast Asia, and the various people living in the larger world outside of those areas were just stuck in between.�
A group of scholars who majored in those �other areas� have come together in counter reaction. They have evaluated current middle and high school history and geography textbooks in �The 7 Minor Areas in Textbooks� � Central East Asia (Lee Pyeong-rae), Southeast Asia (Cho Heung-gok), West Asia and Islam (Lee Hui-su), Africa (Han Geon-su), Latin America (Lee Jong-deuk), and Oceania (Lee Tae-ju).
The result? Put in one sentence, our global studies textbooks �are stuffed full of errors and bias.� The problem is the priority and the amount. There is no specific focus on Africa or the Americas, and Central Asia and Oceania make not no appearance other than in small asides, and even in that small amount of text are plenty of errors. We sometimes hear that other countries� textbooks say �Korea used to be a subject state of China and Japan� and grow indignant, while if the people of other countries looked at our own textbooks they would find them filled with words that would make them explode with rage.
Let�s take a look at some various, clear errors.
The portable tents used by nomadic peoples in Mongolia are called �bbao� or �pao� in textbooks. This is not the Mongolian word but a word that comes from Chinese. Isn�t that just like if foreign textbooks introduced our kimchi as �kimuchi�? It should be changed to the Mongol word �ger�.
The caste system�s �sudra� are incorrectly portrayed as slaves and people of low birth. That may be their position in the ancient texts, but in reality they should be seen as simply commoners. Slaves and people of low birth occupy a lower rung of the caste system, the �untouchables�.
And though it is a word originally, derogatorily used by white people to refer to black slaves, and to say it is taboo around the world, �negro� still remains in textbooks. �Africa is the home of the negro race,� says one textbook. If the black human rights movements could see that they would be shocked that the racial thought of 19th-century Europeans continues to live in the 21st-century Republic of Korea.
But the reason that readers should read this book is to correct the errors, because it exposes the fundamentally wrong understanding of the world in the global studies textbooks being used today. Let�s look at these sentences first. �Alexander the Great took command of the Greek army and led a campaign into the east.� �The United Kingdom extended its reach from the Mediterranean to Central Asia.� Now look at these. �From the mid-11th century the Turks of Afghanistan invaded India.� �The Muslims invaded from the northwest of India and Islam arrived in the country.� The same aggressive military actions, if taken by Europeans, are called �campaigning�, �extending your reach�, or �advancing�, but if taken by Asians they are called �invading�, �attacking�, or �plundering.�
India�s culture and civilization is portrayed with interest in the ancient religions of Hinduism and Islam, and the recent and modern culture is missing, planting the seeds of interest only in ancient India, following in the footsteps of the imperialistic history of the United Kingdom. Oceania is described as �heaven for sheep� but you cannot learn about the more than 25,000 colorful islands and the lives of the people who live on them.
Is this the outcome of our understanding of global history in a time of economic competition? That�s what the authors of this book are asking. The powerful nations of western Europe �, while the viewpoint of Orientalism, which regards them as both mysterious/exotic and contemptuous instead of grasping their true character, is passed from the writers of Korean textbooks to the students, greatly harming their understanding of the world. If that were not so, how could there be such sentences as, �(in India) unlucky people in tattered Buddhist monk�s clothes are begging in the streets for money� or �(Africa) is where Tarzan and Jane shared their beautiful love in a scene of unspoiled nature.�
The even more surprising thing is how pervasive is the basic logic of China�s �Northeast Project� in our textbooks. In some textbooks the nomadic peoples of the grassland regions of Eurasia, who have had a significant impact on important moments in global history without setting up a civilization, are described as being part of Chinese history. Their position between the �end of the east� and the �end of the west�, allowing them to conduct trade with both sides, is recognized but it is not asked who are the true heroes of that life. What is the difference between this depiction of the nomadic people as drifting about, lacking material goods, and attacking settlers and the ethnocentrism of the ancient Chinese race who speak of �the civilization of agriculture, the savagery of nomadic life�?
We, too, are capable of speaking so: �The �world we learned� is not the true world.�
�Correcting Global Studies Textbooks� (세계사 교과서 바로잡기), by Hanyang University professor and specialist in Islam Lee Hui-su and other scholars, points out the mistakes and failures of current global studies textbooks. |
There is a lot to be said about this topic, so fire away.
Personally, I am disappointed with the content and "age" of the textbooks. However, judging from comments posted here and on KoreanBeat and other places, regarding treatment of foreigners here, I am beginning to see a correlation. Your thoughts? |
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xenok
Joined: 03 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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this reminds me, i really should finish reading Loewen's "Lies My Teacher Told Me", i only have one more chapter or so to go anyway.
[edit to correct book title] |
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jdog2050
Joined: 17 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 6:55 pm Post subject: Re: A Challenge to Korean History Textbooks |
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| agentX wrote: |
In the Korean Beat, nov 3rd edition, we find an article about the infamous Korean history textbooks. Lookie here...(bold edits done by me)
http://koreabeat.com/?p=436
| Quote: |
�The World We Learned� is not �The World�
In the last issue of the Weekly Chosun one writer described the efforts of a group of scholars who want to see major reform in the world history textbooks used in Korean middle and high schools. It seems they have a lot in common with this guy.
�In Islam they believe in the god called �Allah God.��
If that sentence doesn�t strike you as strange, then you need to know that in the Arabic Bible �Allah� means �God�. The Arabic word �Allah�, the English word �God�, the Chinese word �天主�, and the Hebrew word �y-hw-h� all refer to the same monotheistic faith. Saying �Allah God� is the same as saying �God God�, so it could be misunderstood as being one god among many in a polytheistic faith. But many current textbooks still write �Allah God�.
These books, from which we learned and are still learning �Global Studies�, are being criticized. �The world we learned about in our books is not really the world. It was only concerned with Europe, the US and Northeast Asia, and the various people living in the larger world outside of those areas were just stuck in between.�
A group of scholars who majored in those �other areas� have come together in counter reaction. They have evaluated current middle and high school history and geography textbooks in �The 7 Minor Areas in Textbooks� � Central East Asia (Lee Pyeong-rae), Southeast Asia (Cho Heung-gok), West Asia and Islam (Lee Hui-su), Africa (Han Geon-su), Latin America (Lee Jong-deuk), and Oceania (Lee Tae-ju).
The result? Put in one sentence, our global studies textbooks �are stuffed full of errors and bias.� The problem is the priority and the amount. There is no specific focus on Africa or the Americas, and Central Asia and Oceania make not no appearance other than in small asides, and even in that small amount of text are plenty of errors. We sometimes hear that other countries� textbooks say �Korea used to be a subject state of China and Japan� and grow indignant, while if the people of other countries looked at our own textbooks they would find them filled with words that would make them explode with rage.
Let�s take a look at some various, clear errors.
The portable tents used by nomadic peoples in Mongolia are called �bbao� or �pao� in textbooks. This is not the Mongolian word but a word that comes from Chinese. Isn�t that just like if foreign textbooks introduced our kimchi as �kimuchi�? It should be changed to the Mongol word �ger�.
The caste system�s �sudra� are incorrectly portrayed as slaves and people of low birth. That may be their position in the ancient texts, but in reality they should be seen as simply commoners. Slaves and people of low birth occupy a lower rung of the caste system, the �untouchables�.
And though it is a word originally, derogatorily used by white people to refer to black slaves, and to say it is taboo around the world, �negro� still remains in textbooks. �Africa is the home of the negro race,� says one textbook. If the black human rights movements could see that they would be shocked that the racial thought of 19th-century Europeans continues to live in the 21st-century Republic of Korea.
But the reason that readers should read this book is to correct the errors, because it exposes the fundamentally wrong understanding of the world in the global studies textbooks being used today. Let�s look at these sentences first. �Alexander the Great took command of the Greek army and led a campaign into the east.� �The United Kingdom extended its reach from the Mediterranean to Central Asia.� Now look at these. �From the mid-11th century the Turks of Afghanistan invaded India.� �The Muslims invaded from the northwest of India and Islam arrived in the country.� The same aggressive military actions, if taken by Europeans, are called �campaigning�, �extending your reach�, or �advancing�, but if taken by Asians they are called �invading�, �attacking�, or �plundering.�
India�s culture and civilization is portrayed with interest in the ancient religions of Hinduism and Islam, and the recent and modern culture is missing, planting the seeds of interest only in ancient India, following in the footsteps of the imperialistic history of the United Kingdom. Oceania is described as �heaven for sheep� but you cannot learn about the more than 25,000 colorful islands and the lives of the people who live on them.
Is this the outcome of our understanding of global history in a time of economic competition? That�s what the authors of this book are asking. The powerful nations of western Europe �, while the viewpoint of Orientalism, which regards them as both mysterious/exotic and contemptuous instead of grasping their true character, is passed from the writers of Korean textbooks to the students, greatly harming their understanding of the world. If that were not so, how could there be such sentences as, �(in India) unlucky people in tattered Buddhist monk�s clothes are begging in the streets for money� or �(Africa) is where Tarzan and Jane shared their beautiful love in a scene of unspoiled nature.�
The even more surprising thing is how pervasive is the basic logic of China�s �Northeast Project� in our textbooks. In some textbooks the nomadic peoples of the grassland regions of Eurasia, who have had a significant impact on important moments in global history without setting up a civilization, are described as being part of Chinese history. Their position between the �end of the east� and the �end of the west�, allowing them to conduct trade with both sides, is recognized but it is not asked who are the true heroes of that life. What is the difference between this depiction of the nomadic people as drifting about, lacking material goods, and attacking settlers and the ethnocentrism of the ancient Chinese race who speak of �the civilization of agriculture, the savagery of nomadic life�?
We, too, are capable of speaking so: �The �world we learned� is not the true world.�
�Correcting Global Studies Textbooks� (세계사 교과서 바로잡기), by Hanyang University professor and specialist in Islam Lee Hui-su and other scholars, points out the mistakes and failures of current global studies textbooks. |
There is a lot to be said about this topic, so fire away.
Personally, I am disappointed with the content and "age" of the textbooks. However, judging from comments posted here and on KoreanBeat and other places, regarding treatment of foreigners here, I am beginning to see a correlation. Your thoughts? |
Well, I know from someone at the Seoul Ministry of Education that Korean texts for English are only updated once every 10 years. 10 YEARS. I wouldn't be surprised if that's a huge part of it, especially if other subjects are on the same cycle. |
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Scotticus
Joined: 18 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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| It's always nice to see people, from any country, being self-reflective and urging change where change is needed. We need more of this in the US... |
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agentX
Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Location: Jeolla province
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| Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 7:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Scotticus wrote: |
| It's always nice to see people, from any country, being self-reflective and urging change where change is needed. We need more of this in the US... |
Kudos to the writer for making the statements, especially given South Korea's dependence on foreign trade. Hopefully there will be changes/updates in the next textbook adoption cycle. Unless the Koreans really want Al Sharpton, the Anti-Defamation League, the Native American associations, the Southern Poverty Law Center, AND the Arab League at their doorstep...
Our US history books are bad enough. They used to be worse, |
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