Seoul: The South Korean government has taken corrective action in response to a campaign by a nongovernmental organization to correct distorted information about Africa in domestic textbooks, the organization said Wednesday. The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK) announced that the Ministry of Education has initiated measures to amend descriptions of poverty and hunger in Africa. They have also increased content related to the African population, technological advancement, and exchanges with South Korea in eight elementary school social studies textbooks that received government authorization in September.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the revised textbooks have reduced content related to the "world hunger map" and alleviated negative images of Africa, such as poverty, hunger, and refugees. Instead, the focus has shifted towards Africa's growth potential driven by population growth and technological advancements in construction and other fields.
Additionally, the textbooks now include expanded content on exchanges between South Korea and Africa, highlighting cooperation in smartphone production resources and trade relations beyond existing agricultural support. Earlier this year, VANK highlighted that elementary school social studies textbooks were filled with prejudices about Africa, portraying it as a continent plagued by poverty and famine. In response, they launched a campaign to rectify these distorted descriptions and sought assistance from the education ministry.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly plans to publicize these efforts to improve domestic perceptions of Africa and leverage them on the international diplomatic stage. VANK is also advocating for the use of the Equal Earth world map, which accurately reflects Africa's size and shape, instead of the Mercator projection map, which distorts the continent's dimensions.
Furthermore, VANK and Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's key newswire, signed an agreement in March to promote the understanding of Africa and expand exchanges between South Korea and Africa.