Prejudiced phrases in Korean textbook remain uncorrected for 3 years: lawmaker

Phrases that may be perceived as discriminatory towards women and the elderly found in a Korean language textbook published by the Korea Foundation -- a non-profit public diplomacy organization run under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- have remained unedited for three years, despite earlier criticism.

According to a parliamentary audit report submitted to Rep. Kim Sang-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea on Tuesday, the Korea Foundation is still working on correcting the expressions written in the textbooks: “Comprehensive Korean for Vietnamese Nationals” and “Comprehensive Korean for Mongolian Nationals.”

More than 1,000 copies of each book have been distributed to local universities and Korean Culture Centers in Vietnam and Mongolia between 2009, when they were first published, and 2016. The books can also be downloaded for free on the Korea Foundation’s official website.

The two textbooks came under fire in September 2021, when JTBC made a report on some of the phrases found in the textbooks.

To address the question -- “Did you know that many children these days are raised by their grandparents more than their parents?” -- the textbook reads, “Yes, at such a young age, it would be better to be raised with love by their parents. What a shame.” In response to the statement -- “There are quite a lot of men getting perms.” -- the textbook writes, “Men getting perms? No way.”

The textbook also includes a Hanja-based idiom that wives should always be obedient and follow their husbands.

Following JTBC’s report, organizations such as the Korea Migrant Human Rights Center raised concerns about the textbook. In October 2021, the Korea Foundation began discussions with the writers to revise the textbook and worked on making language-specific translations of the revisions until June 2023.

Although the Korea Foundation claims that they have made the necessary changes to the phrases, the changes have still not been reflected in the textbooks.

“The revision was delayed because we faced difficulties in obtaining the font used in the textbooks when it was first published in 2008,” said a Korea Foundation official. “We will apply an alternative font and post the revised textbooks by December as a PDF file on our website.”

“Textbooks that contain discriminatory elements against grandparents or women can create a false perception of Korea,” said Rep. Kim. “It is problematic that the books have not been corrected for more than three years, even though the problem had been highlighted long ago. The books must be corrected as soon as possible to provide accurate information.”

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