Essay Contest Result

Introduction

The History one writes is inseparable from the History one lives. Bearing this in mind, one might be surprised to see how, despite its growing political and economic relevance, Korea has been left on the sidelines by Brazilian History textbooks. Such negligence highlights a gap between the History Brazilian students are learning and the History they are living. By neglecting Asian (especially Korean) History, Brazilian textbooks are out of step with a world where, according to Andre Gunder Frank, Asia is reconquering the prominence it lost to Europe in the last centuries.

An overview of several History textbooks used in Brazilian schools makes this point clear. Eleven textbooks written from 1997 to 2013 were analyzed, both from public and private schools, from elementary and high schools. Only three moments in Korean History are tackled by these textbooks: the Japanese conquest in 1910, the Korean War, and the economic development followed by the crisis of the Asian Tigers.

Furthermore, Brazilian textbooks tend to reproduce what Edward Said called an orientalist view of the East. Orientalism is a set of ideas and speeches that conceive the West as superior to the East, thus providing the cultural and ideological framework to legitimize imperialist dominance over Asia and Africa. Three important aspects of orientalism can be noticed in Brazilian textbooks when dealing with Korea: the idea of Koreans as barbarians, as a "silent Other", and as exotic people. We now turn to these misperceptions, pointing out how to correct them.

Koreans as protagonists of their History

A critical glance at Brazilian History textbooks shows us that Koreans are usually depicted as puppets in the hands of superpowers, rather than as actors. Although Japanese conquest of Korea in 1910 cannot be ignored, textbooks would provide a better understanding by telling about the 1919 nationalist movement that proclaimed Korean independence. Equally relevant would be highlighting how, despite Japanese rule, Koreans encouraged the study of their language, the revival of their music and theater, and the writing of a Korean version of History to disprove Japanese claims that deemed Koreans an inferior race. Much could be also said about the strong resistance posed by Koreans to Japanese occupation forces. These episodes of Korean History should be addressed by Brazilian textbooks to show that Koreans were by no means passive in face of Japanese dominance.

As to American-Soviet intervention and the division of the peninsula after 1945, the general impression left by those textbooks is that Koreans silently accepted the bipolar order of the Cold War. Only one out of eleven books mentioned the ongoing efforts to reunify the peninsula. None of them mentions the Jeju Island uprising of 1949, when Koreans rose against partition. Korea is displayed as a mere pawn of the Cold War, overlooking the constant clashes between local governments and the superpowers. Stalin's concern that Kim Il-sung's ambitions over the South could drag the United States to a war in the region, as well as Kennedy's pressures for democratization in the South, unveil a much more complex relation between Koreans and Moscow-Washington.

The Korean War is the moment in Korean History to which Brazilian textbooks devote most of their attention. However, by emphasizing the war and leaving aside key moments of Korean History, textbooks endorse the idea of Korea as a ravaged place, wrecked by the violence of a war that killed millions. Orientalism emerges here by representing the East as irrational, barbarian, and devoid of civilization. The Vietnam War, for instance, is so deeply rooted in our imaginary that every now and then Vietnamese must remind that Vietnam is a country, not a war. Likewise, Brazilian textbooks ought to show that Korea is a country, not a war.

Brazilian textbooks keep depicting Koreans as a people who passively watched as their land was occupied by superpowers throughout History, thus giving a false impression that there was no Korean identity before 1945. Sadly, this reproduces Japanese imperialist conceptions that believed Koreans enjoyed no civilization prior to Japanese arrival. It also reproduces American and Soviet ignorance on Korean past, as they occupied Korea under the assumption that it had never been an independent country. In fact, this is a key aspect of orientalism: the belief that Asians are a "silent Other", unable to represent themselves, and thus dependent on Western help to write their History.

Besides emphasizing Japanese, American, and Soviet occupations, textbooks should also tell about the Joseon Dynasty, that comprised a large period (1388-1897) during which Korea was independent. Important achievements of the Joseon Kingdom, like the creation of the hangul alphabet by King Sejong in the 15th century, and the Korean triumph over Japanese invaders in 1592 would suffice to disprove the image of Koreans as barbarians or subservient people.

Even when dealing with Korean economic prosperity, textbooks usually depict that prosperity as a byproduct of Japanese economic growth – although Korean heavy industrialization was largely driven by the desire to overcome Japan, its historical enemy. The internal conditions for this economic development are scarcely analyzed. Only two books mention the importance of the Park Chung-hee Era for the Korean economic take-off from the 1970's onwards, and only one of these two books mentions the role played by Confucianist ethics of hard work and discipline in the "Korean miracle". Unfortunately, both books were written twenty years ago.

Koreans as an extension of Brazil

Alexander Wendt (1994: 386) states that "Identification is a continuum from negative to positive - from conceiving the other as anathema to the self to conceiving it as an extension of the self". Unfortunately, History textbooks used in Brazilian schools fail to highlight the many things Brazil and Korea have in common and how they can learn from each other.

Although culturally and geographically distant, both are peripheral countries, thus sharing similar historical trajectories. A comparative approach of History could lead to a much better understanding of Korea by Brazilian students. The Donghak Uprising, for example, was contemporary to the War of Canudos, a Brazilian peasant movement that, just like Donghak, also had mystical roots, claimed for equality, and reacted against an oppressive modernization. The successful Korean land reforms after 1945 may also inspire Brazil, a country with high land concentration.

The existence of authoritarian military regimes that fostered industrialization is also common to both countries. The more we learn about the other, the more we learn about ourselves. Hence, talking about the Korean authoritarian experiences under Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee, and Chun Doo-hwan could encourage Brazilians to think more about their own dictatorial experience. Topics such as censorship, authoritarianism, and democratization processes in both countries could stimulate these comparative approaches.

Korea is also an example to Brazil due to its democracy. Confucianist emphasis on hierarchy and respect to authorities was long used to claim that democracy is incompatible with Korean values, thus legitimizing its authoritarian past. However, Confucianism was once also deemed an obstacle to capitalism in Asia. Therefore, just like Korea showed that "Confucianist ethics" can pave way to the "spirit of capitalism", it is also proving that Confucianism is not anathema to democracy. If textbooks explored the successful Korean democratic experience, they would help dismiss the widespread belief in Brazil that democracy is only suitable for Europe and the United States.

Therefore, by failing to point out to the many similarities between Brazilian and Korean History, these textbooks contribute to orientalist opinions that treat Asia as exotic and mysterious - in short: as an anathema, rather than as an extension of Brazil.

What to do, then?

Textbooks cannot be changed overnight. Thus, what we propose to improve the Korean image in Brazilian schools is the publication of a book that fills the blanks left by the textbooks. Korean and Brazilian History undergraduates could cooperate to write a short book (around 40 pages) with plain language summarizing Korean History. Koreans will contribute with their knowledge on Korean History, whereas Brazilians will ensure the book is written in Portuguese. These books shall use three major strategies to fill the blanks left by History textbooks: A) Approaching key moments of Korean History that were not addressed in the textbooks; B) Deconstructing the above-mentioned orientalist misperceptions; C) Developing comparative approaches of Korean and Brazilian History.

By the end of each chapter, activities such as theater plays reenacting Korean History, class debates, or even a Model United Nations, can be proposed to encourage students to live Korean History. Books may come out both in printed and electronic editions, and shall be distributed not only among school students, but also among History undergraduates, so that they start their teaching careers ready to deal with Korean History in classroom.

The growing popularity of Korean music and dramas among Brazilian youngsters is driving many of them to spontaneously read about Korea, in search for information they do not get in classroom. Hence, any initiative aimed at promoting Korea in History classes will certainly meet an audience eager to learn! On the one hand, Korea wants to be known overseas. On the other, Brazilian students long for knowledge about Korea. All we need is an intermediary, i.e., good books to assist teachers in classroom. In times of widespread misinformation, the more school engages in providing students with trustworthy knowledge, the less vulnerable students will be to fake news.

The lack of interest in Korean History by Brazilian textbooks reflects Brazilian education's failure to attune to the Asian reawakening. Even Brazilian students are attuned to this new world by showing a rising interest in Asian music, movies, and TV shows, but textbooks remain outdated. Hence the importance of the initiative proposed here. Brazilian History textbooks cannot pretend the world still works as it did in the early 20th century. They cannot keep dedicating exhaustive chapters to Europe while summarizing Asian History in few paragraphs.