By Seo Soo-min
Staff Reporter

SEOUL - Historians of South and North Korea March 2 urged the Tokyo government to stop Japanese right-wing scholars from issuing school textbooks which, among others, describe Japan’s military aggression of Asia before and during World War II as an act of "liberation."

The scholars from the two Koreas issued a statement condemning Japan’s move at the "South-North Joint Exhibition of Data on the Illegality of the Japanese Imperialists’ Occupation of Korea," which opened in Pyongyang March 1, timed with the 82nd anniversary of a popular uprising against Japanese colonialists.

"All historians of South and North Korea sternly condemn and denounce the moves by reactionary forces in Japan to distort history, and strongly demand that they immediately stop the plan and apologize to the Korean people," the statement read.

The move by the Japanese group "The Society to Make New History Textbooks," consisting of staunch right-wing conservatives, struck a raw nerve among the people of the two Koreas, as its proposed middle school textbook portrays Japan’s military campaigns during World War II as having had a positive impact on East Asia. It is currently undergoing a government authorization process.

The joint exhibition in Pyongyang, the first major inter-Korean historical exchange attended by 21 South Korean scholars, national history compilation committee members and journalists, was made possible partly due to the fact that resentment against Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945) is one of the few things that binds the two Koreas.

Sponsored by the private Sa-un Institute of South Korea and the History Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences of the North, the exhibition presented viewers with about 1,000 historical records that prove the illegality of Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910.

They include the "Japan-Korea Annexation Report," a Japanese paper depicting the fact that, prior to the annexation, a cavalry regiment, instead of regular foot soldiers, was dispatched to guard the Korean Emperor’s palace in Seoul, since they would "suppress the primitive people (Koreans) more" with their looks.

"In addition to setting history straight, I hope that the records will help the ongoing negotiations between North Korea and Japan to form ties," said Lee Jong-hak of the Sa-un Institute, an archivist who tracked down most of the records.

An apology from the Japanese government and compensation for the colonial rule are some of the major hurdles Japan and North Korea have to overcome before agreeing on formal ties.