Can the nation always be right?

[unhappycamper]

http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2983869



Can the nation always be right?

~snip~

It argued that the two Asian statesmen push textbooks to reflect their political views. I was amazed by the content of the editorial, which appeared in such a prestigious newspaper. However, there are still things we need to reconsider. We can discuss the value of a gemstone by studying a pebble.

To compare the textbook-approval issue in Korea and Japan is slightly misleading, as the timing was coincidental. However, confusing the distortion of history with historical debate is a critical error. Everyone knows that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to remove the shameful parts of history from his nation’s textbooks. The international community criticized the attempt to exclude wartime sex slavery and reduce the significance of the Nanking Massacre. Korea, China and most East Asian nations cannot tolerate the Japanese government’s attitude. Even in Japan, the view is supported by a few extreme conservatives.

So Korean officials were surprised by The New York Times’ comparison of President Park Geun-hye to Abe. When Seoul was discontented with the Japanese government’s attempt, The New York Times essentially said that the Korean president’s moves were no different.

President Park may feel wrongfully accused. The editorial claimed that she wants to hide her father’s collaboration with Japan and his dictatorial rule, but those efforts are fundamentally different from Japan’s efforts to distort history. The collaboration with Japan is a controversial issue in Korean society, and while Park Chung Hee’s military dictatorship is an undeniable fact, emphasizing his faults would make his accomplishments less appreciated.