A systematic government campaign has become necessary to help foreigners better understand Korea as many foreign textbooks contain erroneous information about the country according to the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS), Sunday.
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``In the past, Korea was mainly known for fast economic growth and the Korean War (1950-1953). But now, many textbooks have started to introduce Hallyu or the Korean cultural wave, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon or the successful 2002 World Cup as well as its long history,'' she said.
Cool, I'm sure American students would love to know that the land where tens of thousands of their countrymen died two generations ago is actually famous for spicy food. And the country that made the news recently for spending months vigorously protesting American beef actually held some soccer games or something there six years ago. Much lengthier remarks on the issue of foreign books and their approach to Korea to come later, in my forthcoming contribution to Roboseyo's series. Just wanted to point out that when they go after textbooks they're not simply trying to shape Korea's image abroad, but are doing so by arrogantly trying to manipulate other countries' histories.
The irony isn't lost on me. Who is some Korean academy or some local publisher to say that Korean entertainment warrants mention in an overseas history textbook while the Korean War doesn't, or that Ban Ki-moon ought to be emphasized over the country's industrialization? For better or worse, from an American perspective the two noteworthy things about South Korea are the Korean War and the region's economic growth. And it isn't like Ban Ki-moon or entertainers like Rain developed in a vacuum, independent of the influence of the massive economic development that took place after the Korean War and fostered in no small part by aid from the same foreign nations that are apparently misrepresenting Korea's image today. In the same spirit, perhaps South Korean history textbooks would consider deemphasizing the occupation period and giving the whole comfort woman thing a rest in favor of more flattering write-ups about Toyota and Hideo Nomo.
Man, this widespread impulse to sanitize Korea's image abroad and paper over what it feels it has outgrown makes me wonder if universities here put Korean History in quotation marks on diplomas and course catalogues.
5 comments:
Now really....
Your blog is grand but you are letting your spleen overcome your brain in this post..
You confuse PR with some kind of attack.
For this to be true:
I'm sure American students would love to know that the land where tens of thousands of their countrymen died two generations ago is actually famous for spicy food
American students would first have to know those soldiers died, and would then have to ignore that the US was fighting the commies and not nobly protecting SK.
and
when they go after textbooks they're not simply trying to shape Korea's image abroad, but are doing so by arrogantly trying to manipulate other countries' histories.
is just silly.
Damn the bastids for trying to shape their image abroad. And how they might be manipulating the history of other countries?
I'd like to hear it.
Then hear how it is different from the US approach (Radio Free Europe, as an example), the Japanese approach (purely BS history in many textbook), or ANY countries' approach..
but above and beyond all that, you are getting far too paranoid when you take a call (as you quote it) to:
help foreigners better understand Korea as many foreign textbooks contain erroneous information about the country
and propose it is some horrific plot to "go after textbooks."
Take a breath man...
I don't think they meant to refer to the "Korean Wave" in lieu of the War, but to mention that stuff in addition to it. You can't blame them for wanting to mention more than MASH, although the crap they mention is not particularly noteworthy.
Getting beyond the Korean War is a pretty serious concern, though. Last time I went to the library in Seattle the only books they had on Korea were Breen's book and a bunch of war memoirs. I don't know if they should be hitting textbooks, but they should definitely be trying to broaden the number of books available.
There are some Ko-Am writers who discuss Korea, but most of them emigrated some time back and they don't have a really current picture of Korea.
I get the need to update the situation since the Korean War. Book stores and libraries here are the same: Michael Breen's book, a few on North Korea, and three rows of Korean War stuff. Also must hurt that the best-known fact about Korea is a war that most Americans know little about in the first place. However, I don't think it's appropriate to meddle in other countries' textbooks, as was implied in this and other articles with the lines about China and Japan's efforts. I think, to reuse a cliche we've heard a lot lately, some Koreans need to better understand our history and better understand the role Korea fits in it. True, we need some more reflection over here, but Koreans can't just go around talking about 5,000 years this, Lee Sun-shin that and expect it to have the same impact abroad as it does here.
Reading the article, it doesn't seem at all like they're trying to force other countries to incorporate Rain/비 into their books - rather, that they're praising other countries textbooks for expanding the topics covered. And yes, I would say that information on the Korean Wave, for example, may well be a topic of importance in discussing cultural movements, particularly within East Asia. In fact, it seems like most of the corrections they are asking for are pretty legit, and not that wide-ranged.
They should be sure and mention the backlash against Halyu in countries such as China as well.
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