The History Textbook Controversy in Japan and South Korea

Abstract

This paper deals with the history textbook crisis of 2001 following the authorization of the revisionist textbook from the Society for History Textbook Reform. Our purpose is not to delve into that textbook but to examine both the reactions it sparked in South Korea, where it was deemed to be the tip of the iceberg of a wider problem affecting all Japanese history textbooks, and the response that supporters of the revisionist textbook gave to South Korean criticisms. Beyond the mutual charges of “distorting” history, the comparative analysis of the controversial issues reveals far less discrepancies than the diplomatic row triggered by that crisis may have suggested. Comparison with succeeding editions of the textbooks indicates that both sides have drawn the conclusions to avoid a similar crisis.