{"id":2199700,"date":"2022-12-14T08:44:58","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T08:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199700"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:10:47","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:10:47","slug":"planned-textbook-revision-puts-south-korea-out-of-step-on-lgbtq-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/12\/planned-textbook-revision-puts-south-korea-out-of-step-on-lgbtq-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Planned textbook revision puts South Korea out of step on LGBTQ issues"},"content":{"rendered":"
The future of LGBTQ education in South Korea has been thrust into uncertainty after the Yoon Suk-yeol administration <\/span>announced a plan<\/span><\/a> to remove the term \u201csexual minorities\u201d from middle and high school textbooks from 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n The education ministry said it will request publishers replace the term with what it says is a broader, more neutral-sounding phrase: \u201cminorities who face discrimination based on gender, age, race, nationality, disability and other factors.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The change appears aimed at shoring up support for Yoon among conservative voters but has led to domestic and international backlash. The National History Teachers Organization said the move is \u201chalting the progress of human rights,\u201d and other critics warned that the move could worsen discrimination against sexual minorities in South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n Seoul announced the textbook revision plan some two months after it announced a decision to <\/span>shut down<\/span><\/a> the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF), and both moves appear to contradict Yoon\u2019s <\/span>repeated<\/span><\/a> rhetorical emphasis on <\/span>freedom<\/span><\/a> and liberty.<\/span><\/p>\n The administration\u2019s decision also appears to ignore students who have voiced their demand for better access to education about gender and sexual minorities, based on a <\/span>poll<\/span><\/a> conducted by the gender ministry.<\/span><\/p>\n Notably, the textbook change would make South Korea the only developed nation that excludes the topic of sexual minorities from its education curriculum, reflecting the degree to which the administration is out of step with the values of international partners with which it hopes to build ties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n