European Association of History Educators

Source: The Hankyoreh; March 3rd 2010

The Hankyoreh and Asia Peace and History Education Network are working to compile East Asian teaching materials to broaden shared historical understanding. South Korea, China and Japan have been presenting very different explanations of major East Asian historical events in their respective history textbooks. All three countries have either entirely omitted to mention or presented very biased accounts of incidents they deem either unrelated or disadvantageous to themselves.

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Source: The Hankyoreh; March 2nd 2010

In very recent history, there have been more offers to promote peace in East Asia, including Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio’s offer to form an East Asian community, than ever. The conditions to support these cases, however, have yet to be properly prepared. There are several reasons for this, but one of the major causes of these is the gap in historical understanding including the tension over colonial rule or Goguryeo history.

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Source: The New York Times, October 30th 2009

Considering how differently each country sees major issues in their pasts, the obstacles are huge. But such a joint book could go a long way toward mending fences, Japan's foreign minister says.

Reporting from Tokyo and Seoul - Several politicians in South Korea and Japan have begun exploring the possibility of a joint history textbook between their nations and China. But given the lingering differences over issues ranging from past wars to current territorial claims, the proposal faces numerous hurdles.
Members of South Korea's ruling Grand National Party met informally in Seoul this month with counterparts from the majority Democratic Party of Japan. One of the main topics was whether a joint history textbook could now be developed with government cooperation.
Kang Yong-seok, a GNP lawmaker, was among the South Korean politicians who approached the Japanese.
"We [told DPJ] members that it would be very meaningful to write a common textbook," Kang said, citing a history textbook created through German-French cooperation.
"We didn't think the idea was impossible, but the countries have been unable to agree on historical matters," said DPJ member Masashi Mito. "We agreed to revisit and delve into the differences of historical perspectives and look into how realistic such a project can be."
Unrelated to the talks between the politicians, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club this month that a trilateral textbook could help mend fences on historical matters.
"It would be ideal for the [three] nations to have a common textbook, although actually taking that route may be far off," Okada said.
His comments received a favorable response in Seoul.
"We highly appreciate Foreign Minister Okada's suggestion, considering that it is important for younger generations in Korea, China and Japan to have a correct understanding of history," South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said at a news briefing.

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