Foreign Schools in Korea Use 'Sea of Japan' Notation... Textbooks with 'Historical Distortion'

Among 38 Locations, 12 Use Textbooks Listing 'Japan Sea' Alone Instead of 'East Sea'
Some Also Label 'Dokdo' as 'Takeshima'

It has been revealed that textbooks used in foreign schools in Korea used "Sea of Japan" instead of "East Sea." The photo shows the term "Sea of Japan" written in French. Photo by Ahn Min-seok, Office of the Democratic Party of Korea

[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] As of 2020, it was revealed that 12 foreign schools in Korea used textbooks that labeled the sea as the "Sea of Japan" instead of the "East Sea." Among them, one school used a textbook that referred to "Takeshima (竹島, the name Japan claims for Dokdo)" instead of "Dokdo."

According to data from a 2020 full survey received by the office of Democratic Party lawmaker An Min-seok of the National Assembly Education Committee from the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS), 12 out of 38 foreign schools and foreign educational institutions in Korea (31.6%) used textbooks that exclusively labeled the sea as the "Sea of Japan" or used "Takeshima."

There were a total of 24 textbooks that labeled only "Sea of Japan" instead of "East Sea," and one textbook that used only "Takeshima" instead of "Dokdo."

The survey was conducted in 2020 by the Ministry of Education, which requested all metropolitan and provincial offices of education to investigate textbooks at 38 foreign schools and 2 foreign educational institutions, excluding 2 Japanese schools.

Including schools that used textbooks with both "East Sea" and "Sea of Japan" labeled, the total number of schools rises to 17, with a total of 51 textbooks. Among these, 6 schools used only textbooks labeling "Sea of Japan." Six schools used both types, and the remaining 5 schools used textbooks with both "East Sea" and "Sea of Japan" labeled.

Two foreign schools (total 2 textbooks) were found to use textbooks labeling both "Dokdo" and "Takeshima." Including those that labeled only "Takeshima," the total is 3 schools with 3 textbooks.

Foreign schools are established for foreigners living in Korea or Koreans who have lived abroad for more than three years. To have their academic achievements recognized as equivalent to domestic elementary, middle, and high schools, Korean students graduating from foreign schools must complete at least 102 hours annually in Korean language and social studies (including Korean history and general history).

A similar issue was raised during the 2016 National Assembly audit. Since then, the Ministry of Education has conducted a full survey targeting foreign schools. The AKS has also been working on improving foreign textbooks through the "Correcting Korea" project, but some schools have yet to improve.

Unlike Korea, which adopts government-approved (검인정) textbooks, many countries allow schools to autonomously select textbooks. Domestic foreign schools mainly use textbooks from their home countries. Additionally, due to the nature of foreign schools, there is a need for cautious approaches as diplomatic conflicts may arise with the countries related to the founders or the schools themselves.

Lawmaker An said, "Correcting the mislabeling of the East Sea and Dokdo and promoting accurate information is a national responsibility. Continuous government-level measures, budget support, and ongoing efforts are necessary. Strengthening public-private-academic cooperation systems is essential to convey Korea's history and culture without any errors."

In response, the Ministry of Education stated in an explanatory document released that afternoon, "Foreign schools located in Korea use textbooks from their home countries, making immediate textbook improvements difficult. For foreign schools in Korea, we will provide relevant reference materials to request cooperation for corrections and ensure proper education on the East Sea and Dokdo."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.