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| ▲ The May 18 Memorial Foundation holds a press conference in the southern city of Gwangju on Jan. 4, 2023, denouncing revised writing guidelines for textbooks by the Ministry of Education. (Yonhap) |
democracy uprising-textbooks
Omitting May 18 uprising from textbook guidelines is to ensure more autonomy for writers: ministry
By Kim Han-joo
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- The education ministry said Wednesday that omitting descriptions of the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju from the latest textbook guidelines is part of efforts to give textbook writers more autonomy.
Criticism arose after revelations that there was not a single mention of the May 18 uprising in revised writing guidelines for textbooks that will be used in elementary, middle and high schools. The guidelines, finalized on Dec. 22, will serve as a key reference for textbook writers.
The Ministry of Education said the revision is part of the curriculum change to minimize descriptions of specific and individual historical events, including the crackdowns during the pro-democracy uprising in 1980, in an effort to ensure more autonomy for the textbook writers.
"The draft proposal by a policy research committee was released in late July, and learning elements such as the May 18 uprising were not described at the time," Jang Hong-jae, a education policy adviser, told a press briefing on Wednesday. He also said other historical events, such as the April 3, 1948, uprising on the southern island of Jeju, were excluded.
The main opposition Democratic Party and other civic groups, including the May 18 Memorial Foundation, strongly denounced the revised guidelines, saying such omission is damaging the spirit of democracy.
Some even further argued that the omission was intentionally executed to meet the taste of the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
On May 18, 1980, the military cracked down on demonstrators, including students, protesting against then President Chun Doo-hwan, who had taken power in a military coup a year earlier. The harsh quelling of the uprising left more than 200 dead and 1,800 others wounded.
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