S. KOREA BLASTS JAPANESE TEXTBOOKS

[Anchor Lead]

In response to Japan's controversial textbook plans, the government summoned the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese embassy in Seoul to file a formal complaint and demand the rectification of distorted information. Victims who were forcibly taken to Japan themselves or had family members subjected to such treatment have expressed strong opposition, urging the government to take stern action.

[Pkg]

Naoki Kumagai, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese embassy in Seoul, enters the foreign ministry building with a stern look. Vice foreign minister Cho Hyun-dong summoned the official to protest Tokyo's approval of controversial school textbooks. The ministry also issued a separate spokesperson statement. It expressed deep regret over the textbooks repeating misguided claims that have continued for decades. It stressed that any claims by Japan to Korea's Dokdo islets are unacceptable. It also said that wording diluting the forced nature of wartime labor by Koreans is also very regrettable. The education ministry also issued a statement calling on Japan to immediately rectify the textbooks. It also vowed to strengthen education on history and the Dokdo islets with the Korean people in an effort to correct Japan's historical distortions and unjust territorial claims. The victims were enraged by how the textbooks depicted their experience.

[Soundbite] Lee Yun-jae(Victim’s family of forced worker in Japanese military) : "Volunteer? No, they were forced to join otherwise their family would be killed."

[Soundbite] Yang Keum-deok(Victim of Japanese wartime forced labor) : "What freedom did we have to go there? It's total nonsense. We were forcibly taken to do grueling labor."

Apart from efforts to improve ties with Tokyo, Seoul intends to continuously demand Japan change its historical distortions.