"Pro-Japanese advocacy" vs "violation of teaching rights"..."History textbook debate" after 7 years.

[Anchor]
A high school is the only one in the country to adopt a history textbook that has been criticized as a 'new light', causing controversy.

Civic groups condemned it, but the school countered, calling it a violation of school rights.

Reporter Kim Geun-woo covered it.

[Reporter]
It is a high school history textbook by the Korea Educational Testing Service, which is suspected of being a so-called "new light."

The Syngman Rhee administration was criticized for its description of "extending power" instead of "dictatorship" or that it was practically impossible for righteous army to fight and win the Japanese military.

Only one of the 2,300 high schools nationwide adopted this textbook, Gyeongsan Munhwa High School in Gyeongsangbuk-do.

Seven years ago, during the Park Geun Hye administration, it was the only place that was controversial for applying for a national history textbook research school.

Civic groups immediately protested, saying the conservative foundation was trying to provide biased history education.

[Lee Yong-ki / Standing Representative of Civil Countermeasures Committee: It seems that he is obsessed with such a similar stance since the last state textbook. They can't stand the dictatorship of the Syngman Rhee administration and the righteous army movement as the spirit of our people....]

The school did not back down.

As it passed the Ministry of Education's examination, there are no pro-Japanese or dictatorship advocacy issues, and it is the school's own authority to choose which textbook to choose.

[Im Jun-hee / Principal of Munhwa High School: The selection of textbooks is not by majority vote. It's not a vote. The choice between the nine species is based on expertise, and it's teachers' teaching authority.

Parents cannot hide their anxiety as the conflict between schools and civil society continues.

[Lee Seung-min / Parents of Munhwa High School: I'm a little worried that people's views and prejudices about students who went to school during this period will be affected even when they go out into society later.]

While civic groups plan to continue their opposition, including a one-man protest on the way to school, the conflict is expected to deepen as the school also signals a hard-line response, including accusations of infringement of school rights.

I'm Kim Geunwoo from YTN.

Reporter for shooting
: Jeon Dae-woong