A significant proportion of middle and high
school history textbooks give unbalanced or distorted readings of the roles of
the Soviet Union, Kim Il Sung, Syngman Rhee and the United States in the Korean
War, a new report has alleged.
The conservative youth organization “story
K” published the report last week entitled: “Analysis of the Korean War through
Middle and High School History Textbooks.” It is based upon analysis of the way
the Korean War is depicted in eight different textbooks distributed by various
publishers to high schools this year, and nine used by middle schools in 2013.
It concludes, “Generally, middle school
history textbooks do state that North Korea prepared the war with the help of the
Soviet Union, and that Kim Il Sung invaded South Korea. However, the Cold War, the
‘Acheson Line’ and skirmishes in the vicinity of the Military Demarcation Line
(MDL) are all lent as much importance as Kim’s invasion. As a result, the
textbooks tend to undermine the responsibility of the Soviets and Kim Il Sung [for the
Korean War].”
For instance, just one high school textbook,
that in the Liber School series, introduces well known “Soviet diplomatic documents” as a means of noting the Soviet role in the outbreak of the war, while one Gyohaksa textbook mentions the “Soviet strategy for communizing the
Korean Peninsula.” However, no other textbook deals with the issue of Soviet
culpability at all.
“The Korean War was an uncivilized and
inhumane war of aggression instigated by the Soviets and Kim Il Sung,” the
report declares. “The UN, including Syngman Rhee and the United States, fought to
defend freedom, and so it is important to clearly state that the Korean War was
just that: a battle to defend freedom.”
Elsewhere, one textbook by Geumsung states of
the Korean War, “Syngman Rhee’s government implemented an anti-communist system
and repressed both those who opposed it politically and others who rightly criticized
the regime’s corruption and incompetence.” At the same time, the report notes that the
same text states: “In North Korea, Kim Il Sung’s power was getting
stronger and stronger.” The report thus criticizes this textbook for doing much
to sustain a negative appreciation of the Syngman Rhee government while providing
only fragmentary and abstract evidence regarding Kim Il Sung and North Korea.
The report also finds that one textbook by Doosan-Donga
only cites massacres by the South Korean side in any detail, without addressing any of those by North Korean forces.
