/ 에콰도르 Jikji is included in Ecuadorian textbooks
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Jikji is included in Ecuadorian textbooks

AKS has corrected or refined over 2,600 content items about Korea in overseas textbooks

  • ◇ Jikji, the oldest surviving document printed with movable metal type, is now included in high school textbooks in Ecuador.
  • ◇ Since 2003, AKS has corrected or refined over 2,600 content items related to Korea in textbooks in 206 countries through the Understanding Korea project.
  • ◇ Topics related to the advanced industries of South Korea, including the KTX (South Korea’s high-speed train system), hydrogen cars, 5G networks, and robot technologies, were introduced to textbooks last year.
  • ◇ Despite challenges, not least the arduous process of collecting numerous textbooks from around the world, the Understanding Korea project is at the forefront of efforts to promote a proper understanding of Korea by using strategies customized to conditions in different countries.
  • After nearly ten years of persistent effort, the Academy of Korean Studies (President Ahn Byung Woo, AKS) succeeding in having Jikji-related content included in textbooks in Ecuador.
  • Jikji, a Goryeo Dynasty document considered the oldest extant item printed with movable metal type, is now introduced in the Ecuadorian high school textbook Language and Literature. Students in Ecuador are coming to learn about this remarkable cultural heritage item from Korea.
  • Having content on the history and culture of Korea included in textbooks of countries located across the globe from South Korea is being made possible thanks to AKS’s Understanding Korea project, which customizes its strategies to the conditions in different countries.
    • The AKA’s efforts to include Korea-related content in textbooks in Ecuador began nine years ago when the editor-in-chief of Santillana, the largest private textbook publisher in Latin America, attended the 2013 Korean Culture Seminar for Ecuadorian textbook experts.
    • Upon discovering that Jikji preceded the Gutenberg bible by 78 years, the editor-in-chief of Santillana mentioned including related content in future textbooks.
    • Since then, AKS maintained close contact with Santillana and provided the publisher with information about Jikji through the help of the Cheongju Early Printing Museum.
  • The textbook uses a digital platform to introduce Jikji in detail over 12 pages with background music to spark students’ interest. The content includes:
    • Dating to 1377, Jikji is the oldest book in the world printed with movable metal type. It is inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme.
    • 78 years before Gutenberg, Choi Yoon-eui applied movable metal type to this oldest example in the world.
  • The Understanding Korea project is designed to help correct misleading information about Korea and introduce or refine Korea-related content in overseas textbooks with a goal to promote the image of the country.
    • This project was overseen by the Ministry of Education from 2003 until last year. This year it was transferred to the AKA, allowing the AKA to more actively plan and carry out the project.
    • Customized strategies are applied to different countries based on the collection and analysis of overseas textbooks and the Korean Culture Seminar for overseas textbook experts, development and distribution of Understanding Korea materials, and cooperation with overseas networks.
  • Last year, information on the economic development of South Korea came to be included in 14 textbooks in Ecuador, including history, social science, language, mathematics, physics, biology, and natural science texts.
    • For example, a ninth-grade social sciences textbook mentioned that since independence from Japan in 1945, South Korea has grown from one of the poorest countries on earth to an economic superpower with a GDP of 1.63 trillion dollars as of 2020.
    • Other Korea-related content includes describing Hyundai as the global market leader in hydrogen cars; the KTX high-speed train made including Korean technologies and allowing the whole country to be reached within two hours of travel; the popularization of 5G smartphones (Samsung); research on AI robotics (KAIST); and the spread of K-culture products (introducing the film “#Alive” and the video game “Battleground.”
  • Based on these achievements in paper textbooks, the AKA is planning to expand the Understanding Korea project to include digital textbooks.
  • “It is difficult to correct errors, have existing content improved, or have new content introduced in foreign textbooks. However, over the past 20 years, the AKA has made significant achievements in this regard and has promoted the national image of South Korea,” said President Ahn Byung Woo. “We will continue to work with government ministries, civic organizations, and overseas publishers in order to develop and distribute content customized to the characteristics of the target country.”

[Appendix 1] Jikji-related content in an Ecuadorian digital textbook in (12 pages in total) (Source: The Academy of Korean Studies)


[Appendix 2] Corrected and newly introduced content in Ecuadorian textbooks in 2021

  • Grade:
    General Basic Education Year 9
  • Subject:
    Social Sciences
  • Title:
    The miracle of South Korea, which turned from a colony of Japan into an economic superpower
  • Content:
    Since independence from Japan in 1945, South Korea has grown from one of the poorest countries on earth to an economic superpower. As of 2020, South Korea’s GDP amounts to 1.63 trillion dollars. Its major industries include high-tech, automobile, shipbuilding, petrochemical, and steel industries
  • Type:
    New addition
  • Coverage amount:
    The red box in the middle on the right side
  • Grade:
    General integrated high school Year 2
  • Subject:
    Physics
  • Title:
    South Korea’s smartphones, 5G, and the popularity of the Korean Wave
  • Content:
    The global smartphone market in 2021 witnessed new forms, including foldable and rollable phones along with the popularization of 5G smartphones. Samsung Electronics has launched Android phones… the popularity of the Korean Wave is closely related to this smart media environment.
  • Type:
    New addition
  • Coverage amount:
    The red box at the bottom-left
  • Grade:
    General Integrated High School year 1
  • Subject:
    Physics
  • Title:
    South Korea’s hydrogen car, NEXO
  • Content:
    South Korea is adding another success story with its hydrogen cars. NEXO is a hydrogen vehicle from the South Korean company Hyundai. In 2019, a total of 4,987 NEXOs were sold around the world, topping global hydrogen car sales…Hyundai’s prominence in the area of hydrogen vehicles is attributed to the company’s years of research on hydrogen as an eco-friendly energy source…
  • Type:
    New addition
  • Coverage amount:
    The red box on the bottom on the right side
  • Grade:
    General Basic Education year 8
  • Subject:
    Social Science
  • Title:
    Theme 1. Asia
  • Content:
    Naming the sea between Korea and Japan the “East Sea”
  • Type:
    New addition
  • Coverage amount:
    Full page
  • Grade:
    General Basic Education year 10
  • Subject:
    Natural Science
  • Title:
    3T, South Korea’s quarantine model for Covid-19
  • Content:
    What is 3T? Test, Trace, and Treat.
    Testing includes PCR tests based on the advanced capacities of South Korea’s biotechnology sector, and drive-thru/walk-thru systems… which were successful innovations in South Korea’s Covid-19 response model...
  • Type:
    New addition
  • Coverage amount:
    The red box in the center
  • Grade:
    General Basic Education year 8
  • Subject:
    Language and Literature
  • Title:
    South Korean movies, “K-Movie”
  • Content:
    South Korean movies succeeded at grabbing the attention of the world at major film festivals, marking the beginning of the Korean Wave in feature films. The remarkable international popularity of Parasite by director Bong Joon-ho fueled the expansion of Korean cinema on the global level. The film won four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture….The film “#Alive” by Director Cho Il-hyeong ranked fourth among the ten most watched foreign films in the US on Netflix in 2020…
  • Coverage amount:
    Full page

(Source)

https://www.aks.ac.kr/cop/bbs/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=318352&bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000046

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