다음은 성명서 한글과 영문 전문이다.

한국사 교과서 국정화를 반대하는 해외재학생들의 성명서

우리는 미국 전역에 걸쳐 각자 다른 대학들에서 공부하고 있는 학생 (대학생, 대학원생)들입니다. 2015년 11월 3일, 한국 정부가 한국사 교과서를 국정화하는 데 대하여 우리는 이것이 초래할 결과를 심각하게 우려하여 반대 성명서를 발표합니다.

과거에 대한 사람들의 기억은 한 사회의 미래를 추동하는 중요한 원동력입니다. 역사의 국정화는 그러한 원동력에 대한 독점권을 한 정권에게 부여하는 백지 수표입니다. 우리가 택한 민주공화국은, 유한한 특정정권에게 우리 민족 전체의 장구한 5천년 역사에 대한 해석독점권을 부여하는 것을 허용하지 않습니다. 권력의 시각은 외눈박이와 같습니다. 권력의 시각에서는 그 아무리 좋은 의도라도 지식과 기억을 입체적으로 경험하고 서술 할 수 없습니다. 저희가 국정화를 추진하는 것이 우파 정권이든, 좌파 정권이든 반대 할 수 밖에 없는 이유입니다.

민주주의 사회에서 정부에게 여론은 ‘다그치는’ 대상이 아니며, 정책은 스스로의 이익을 위한 것이 아닙니다. 여론은 충분히 수렴하고, 최소한 충분히 설득해야 할 대상이며, 정책은 온당한 절차를 차곡차곡 밟아서 진행해야 합니다. 한국 정부는 여론을 충분히 고려하지 않았습니다. 정책도 중요한 절차들이 생략되었습니다. 정부는 30%대를 넘지 못하는 찬성과 60%를 넘는 반대에도 불구하고 결국 계획보다 이틀 앞당겨 11월 3일 교과서 국정화 확정 고시를 발표하였습니다. 국민들의 의견이 전달되는 하나의 중요한 창구인 교육부의 팩스는 꺼놓았지만, TV에서는 정부의 국정화 교과서 홍보가 ‘공익’광고라는 이름 하에 널리 퍼졌습니다. 이는 아직 집필조차 시작 안된 국정화 교과서에 총 예산 44억원 중 25억이 홍보비로 책정된 결과였습니다.

역사는 압축된 내러티브가 필요합니다. 역사를 역사화 하면서 역사학자들은 과거에 있었던 무수히 많은 주체들간의 상호작용을 대상으로 시공간을 기준으로 재단하고, 특정 인물과 사건들의 경중을 따지며, 인과관계를 추론하고, 이를 묘사하는데 적합한 언어를 모색합니다. 이렇게 복합적인 과정에 주관적인 요소들이 많이 스며들 수 밖에 없는 이상 역사학자들이 일관된 내러티브를 재단하고 압축하는 과정에서 특정한 사실의 선택과 배제로 자유로울 수 없으며, 일관되고 구성력 있는 내러티브를 짜는 과정에서 서술자의 관점과 가치가 스며들어 선택된 사실을 엮어낼 수 밖에 없습니다.

한 역사학자가 자신이 생각하는 ‘올바른’ 의도로 특정한 역사적 사실을 선택하고 다른 선택을 배제하며, ‘올바른’ 관점을 추구한다고 해서 이 관점이 모두에게 ‘올바른’ 관점이 될 수 없습니다. 이러한 의미에서 진정으로 ‘올바른’ 역사란 한 사람이나 하나의 배타적 이익집단, 하나의 정당, 하나의 정부에 의해서 형성될 수 없습니다. 올바른 역사는 특정한 소수의 ‘올바른’ 의도에서 출발하는 것이 절대 아닙니다.

마지막으로 국제 사회에서 국정화는 한국 정부의 명예 실추를 가져올 수 있습니다. 교과서 국정화제도는 북한, 스리랑카, 몽골 등의 소수 국가들만이 채택하였고, 베트남의 경우 최근 유엔 인권이사회의 권고를 심각하게 받아들여 검정제로 전환한 바 있습니다. 우리는 국제사회에서까지 상식으로 여겨지고 있는 추세를 정부가 스스로 역행하고 있다는 사실에 우려를 표하고 싶습니다.

한국의 역사교과서 국정화 논쟁에 세계의 많은 사람들이 주목하고 있습니다. 부디 이번 역사교과서 국정화 문제에 대해 조국으로부터 떨어져 있는 저희들의 우려를 심각하게 받아들여주시길 바랍니다.

2015년 11월 15일

Statement in Opposition to the South Korean Government’s Decision
to Issue a State-Controlled History Textbook

We, the students at universities and colleges overseas, issue this statement to express our deep concern on the South Korean government’s decision to require all secondary schools to use unitary Korean history textbooks issued by the national government, replacing the current textbooks published by eight different publishing companies. We wish to strongly emphasize that the South Korean government’s attempt to re-nationalize history textbooks severely violates the principles of free speech and academic freedom by politicizing the history education, and deprives students of cultivating the ability to critically interpret and understand history and society from diverse perspectives.

History is about interpreting inextricably interwoven interactions between people based on historical evidence. History is more than just facts, and can be understood differently by the way in which they are taught. Thus, students should be given an opportunity to establish their historical perspectives by being exposed to diverse ways of interpreting historical events. Furthermore, the government’s use of the phrase “correct history textbook” implies that there are pre-established right and wrong interpretations of history, which contradict the nature of empirical reasoning. A single history textbook issued by the government deprives students of developing the ability to critically interpret history, and fails to expand the students’ ability to understand society from diverse perspectives.

Not only do state-issued history textbooks go against the global trend of history education, but they also run a risk of being misused to force government propaganda upon the students, as we have witnessed under the authoritarian regime in South Korea during the 1970s and 80s. A single history textbook issued by the government not only contradicts the idea of free market economy expressed in the phrase “marketplace of ideas,” but it also violates the spirit of democracy, which South Korea explicitly states as its constitutional value.

On October 24, 2013, Farida Shaheed, the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, addressed in the 68th session of the UN General Assembly that history teaching “should be based on the understanding of history as an academic discipline,” and should not “serve the purpose of strengthening patriotism, fortifying national identity or shaping the young in line with either the official ideology or the guidelines of the dominant religion.” The South Korean government’s attempt to re-nationalize history textbook clearly violates the UN’s guideline on history education by imposing the official ideology on students. The government should refrain from standardizing history textbook and should ensure academic freedom and diversity in the field of history education.

We, the students at universities and colleges overseas, request the South Korean government to reconsider its decision to re-nationalize the history textbooks, thus promoting academic freedom and free speech in the field of history education, and providing opportunities for students to cultivate skills to critically understand and interpret society from diverse perspectives.

November 15, 2015

Co-authors (in Surname Alphabetical Order)
Eun Ah Cho (University of California, Irvine)
Soul Han (Swarthmore College)
N.H. Diane Kim (University of California, Los Angeles)
Eun Youb Josh Lee (Tufts University)
JinHyun Lee (Carleton College)
Sangjoon Lee (Stanford University)
Wook Jong Lee (Claremont Graduate University)
Hongjik Yang (University of California, Berkeley)

Signatories (in Country Name Alphabetical Order)
*More than one student from the schools listed below has signed the petition.
Total: 1519 (in progress)
212 colleges and universities from 26 countries

Australia
Campion College
Deakin University
East Doncaster Secondary College
La Trobe University
Macquarie University
Monash University
Swinburne University
University of Sydney
Western Sydney University

Belgium
Athénée des Pagodes

Brazil
Universidade Federal de Pelotas

Canada
Emily Carr University of Art and Design
HEC Montreal
McGill University
McMaster University
Ottawa University
Ryerson University
Seneca College
University of British Columbia

China
City University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
University of Hong Kong

Denmark
Copenhagen Business School

El Salvador
Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgado

England
Corelli College
London School of Economics
St Aloysius College
University of Cambridge
University of Roehampton
University of Sheffield

Finland
Puolalanmäki Upper Secondary School

France
Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, Paris
Universitaire de Saint-Jerome
Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense

Germany
Freie Universität zu Berlin
Friedrich-List-Berufskolleg Bonn
Heidelberg University
Hochschule Bremen
Musikhochschule Hanns Eisler Berlin
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Universität Stuttgart

Japan
Kyoto University of Art and Design
Osaka Sogo Design College
Sophia University
University of Tsukuba

Lithuania
Vilnius University

Malaysia
University of Malaya

Netherland
Gerrit van der Veen College
Nordwin College
Universiteit Leiden

New Zealand
Turakina Maori Girls College
University of Canterbury

Peru
Universidad Ricardo Palma

Philippines
Ateneo de Davao University
Holy Angel University
La Consolacion College Tanauan
Naga College Foundation
University of Santo Tomas
University of the Philippines Diliman

Poland
Adam Mickiewicz University

Romania
Babes Bolyai University

Scotland
Glasgow School of Art

Serbia
Novi Sad University

Spain
IES Carmen Laffón
IES Vidreres

Sweden
Stockholm University

Switzerland
Actualités du collège Rousseau

United States
Amherst College
Arcadia University
Arizona State University
Babson College
Bard College
Barnard College
Baylor University
Beloit College
Binghamton University, State University of New York
Biola University
Boston University
Brandeis University
California Baptist University
California Institute of Technology
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State University, Bakersfield
California State University, East Bay
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Sacramento
California State University, San Bernardino
Calvin College
Cana New Wine Seminary
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Christian Brothers University
Baruch College, City University of New York
Claremont Graduate University
Claremont McKenna College
Colby College
Colgate University
College of Southern Nevada
College of William and Mary
Collin College
Columbia Theological Seminary
Columbia University
Connecticut College
Cornell University
Diablo Valley College
Dickinson College
Drake University
Duke University
El Paso Community College
Emory University
Foothill College
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Georgia Gwinnett College
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Perimeter College
Georgia State University
Gettysburg College
Grinnell College
Harvard University
Harvey Mudd College
Hunter College
Indiana University
Iowa State University
Johns Hopkins University
Johnson and Wales University
La Salle University
Logos School
Loyola University Chicago
Macalester College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
McCormick Theological Seminary
MCPHS University
Michigan State University
Montgomery College
National College of Natural Medicine
New York Medical College
New York University
North Carolina State University
Northeastern University
Northwest Wine Academy
Northwestern University
Otis College of Art and Design
Parkland College
Pennsylvania State University
Pfeiffer University
Pittsburg State University
Pitzer College
Point Loma Nazarene University
Pomona College
Pratt Institute
Princeton University
Purdue University
Quinnipiac University
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhodes College
Rice University
Robert Morris University
Rutgers University
San Francisco State University
Santa Monica College
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
School of Visual Art
Scripps College
Seattle Pacific University
Sewanee The University of the South
Smith College
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
Temple University
Texas A&M University
Tufts University
University at Albany, State University of New York
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
University of California Santa Cruz
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Central Oklahoma
University of Cincinnati
University of Connecticut
University of Florida
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Illinois Springfield
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
University of Nebraska -Lincoln
University of North Texas
University of Pennsylvania
University of Redlands
University of San Diego
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Dallas
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Tech
Washington State University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wayne State University
Wesleyan University