This study investigate the characteristics of institutional change of the
nationalization of history textbooks(NHT) begun in 2015 from the late
historical new institutionalism perspective. To do so, we divided three phase
of the NHT, analyzed how the related actors, discourse and power played in
the process of the NHT and explored the possible settlement of the NHT
institution.
Our analysis indicates that initially the New Right(NR) Group utilized state
power and transformed the existing textbook institution to institutionalize
their views of Korea history by helping the Kyohaksa history textbooks get
into classrooms. However, this attempt was failed by strong veto by almost
all schools and teachers. This institutionalization of NR history view(NRHV)
can be classified as‘drifting’of the types institutional change. The
contingency of drifting could have caused the institutionalization of NHT,
which expanded discretion power of the institution manager(the ministry of
education) and constrained the discretion power and veto rights of the
researchers and teachers. Thus, NHT can be classified as a variant of
‘conversion’ type of institutional change.
In the process of NHT, actors, power and discourses played important
roles. History researchers and teachers demand more autonomy and
discretion in writing and using textbooks, which gained more popular
support. However, NHT discourse could not get support even from
conservative groups but NR group utilized state power to nationalize history
textbooks based ‘the right text book’ discourse. Liberalization group enriched their discourses in the course of anti-nationalization movement to
present new institution design for history textbook. We suspect that NHT
cannot be stably institutionalized in the long term due to its weak discourse
and little support from stake holders.