Some Korean musicians are coming out strong against a government education initiative.
Dream Factory, the entertainment company run by singer Lee Seung Hwan, held a free concert on Wednesday in protest of the South Korean government's push to create sate-funded history textbooks. The concert is aimed at teenagers and young adults to raise awareness of the political controversy over the government's move to control history education in South Korea.
"We want to show the adults, who try to cover our eyes, that we will only learn the legitimately written history and are monitoring the reality straight with eyes wide open," Dream Factory was quoted in the Korean media by The Korea Times.
The "Don't Make Us One-Eyed" free concert took place in the home of Korean indie music, Hongdae, an area of Seoul popular among college students and young adults.
Dream Entertainment artists including Lee Seung Hwan, 10CM, Garion, Daybreak, Pia, Rock 'N' Roll Radio, and Tatles will be joined at the concert by cartoonist Kang Full and journalist Joo Ji Nu.
"All the guests agreed to take to the stage as they decided to cheer the young adults who decided to challenge the adults in higher seats who wield unfairness and act unethically," said Dream Factory’s rep.
Pictures from "Don't Make Us One-Eyed" were posted on Dream Factory's official Facebook page, with images of attendees holding whiteboards expressing their opinions about the government initiative.
Other South Korean artists also spoke out about the controversial move to government-created history textbooks.
SHINee member Jonghyun took to Twitter last month to express his concern about raising children in a country where the government closes off historical conversation by creating a single textbook.
The educational plan has come under criticism from within South Korea and also has been highlighted by Western media.
The Guardian reported that the South Korean government's plan to create a single textbook was history revisionism and raised concerns about the South Korean government's attempt to stop "pro-North Korean" bias.
The South Korean government said on Tuesday that it will continue its plan to create history textbooks for middle and high school students.
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey, and Paste Magazine.
