The Transformation of Korea-Japan History Conflict and Changes in the Narrative Composition of History Textbooks (1945-2007)

From the liberation until 2007, the history curriculum and textbooks in Korea have undergone numerous challenges in line with domestic and international political changes, as well as demands from academia and educational fields. In particular, since the post-colonial issues were more important in history than in other school subjects, there were considerable difficulties surrounding revisions of the curriculum and textbooks. Among these challenges was the structure of historical narratives, which varied from period to period concerning the interrelationship between Korean, Eastern, and Western history education. The issue was whether to adopt a dichotomous structure of national history and world history, or a tripartite structure of national, Eastern, and Western history. This was important because the difference in perception of these individual history subjects, and the domestic and international environment surrounding them, were as great as the political changes home and abroad.<br/> Immediately after the liberation, the previously established tripartite structure was maintained, although the content on Japanese history was reduced. However, following the Korean War, anti-communism, the spread of the “Chinese Communist Party” narrative, and the deepening of Eastern stagnation theory led to the return of a dichotomous structure used during the Korean Empire, that of national history and world history.<br/> Since then, efforts to resolve the historical conflicts between Korea and Japan, along with Korea’s democratization, culminated in the introduction of “East Asian History” textbooks in 2007. This also marked the revival of the tripartite structure. However, the creation of “East Asian History” holds historical significance as it was different from the previous tripartite structure: a Korean history still bound to colonial views, a Western history focused on Western Europe, and an Eastern h istory centered around China. Instead, it was composed of a Korean history that broke away from colonial views, a World history centered around exchange and trade, and an East Asian history that emphasizes the relationship between Korea, Japan, and China.