Park proposes joint history textbook for Northeast Asia to help ease tensions

SEOUL – South Korea’s President, Park Geun-hye, has proposed that Korea, China and Japan publish a joint history textbook “to build a practice of co-operation and dialogue, just as Germany, France and Poland did”. “There may come a day when the wall of historical issues, which has been a source of conflict and distrust in the region, will be torn down,” she told an international academic conference marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

“The Korean Peninsula is located between Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region, an important strategic location. Making Northeast Asia into a single market similar to the European Union would bring immense opportunities to us,” she said.

Despite the bloc’s enormous potential, political and security issues across the region were hindering regional integrity, she added, cited unsolved issues such as the high possibility of military clashes and North Korea’s unceasing nuclear ambition.

To settle the so-called “Asian paradox” - that countries trade together while still having historical disputes - she said Northeast Asia could learn from the European example. Her vision, she said, involved, first, dealing with small but meaningful issues, “in order to accumulate bits of trust here and there, which would lead to co-operation and dialogue”. “The goal is to make the region peaceful, and that will lead to co-operation between Eurasia and the Pacific region.”  (ATI).