As the results of the project “Inform the Republic of Korea in Dutch
Textbooks”, two of the three major textbook publishers in the
Netherlands (ThiemeMeulenhoff (TM) and Noordhoff) included
the contents of the development of Korea.
Along with textbooks, the history test for high school students
with the largest market share in the Netherlands also included
the contents of the development of Korea.

In the existing textbooks, Korea-related contents were described in
up to one page, and some textbooks had no Korea-related contents.

Since the implementation of the project, the development of Korea
has been positively introduced in up to six to seven pages in Dutch
history and geography textbooks, making significant achievements
both quantitative and qualitative.
In addition, Korea has become the country with the largest number
of explanatory pages among all countries introduced in the textbook.

Typically, in Dutch elementary geography textbooks, the Republic of
Korea was described as “A country where fish are prepped and sold
by cheap wages”, but after the additions of the development of Korea,
the explanation was revised to “The Republic of Korea is a rich
country that makes and exports high-tech smartphones and digital
TVs.” In addition, the photos that describe the main images of the
Republic of Korea were changed from those of a fish market to those
of a researcher.
This clearly demonstrated that Korea is the most advanced country
among Asian countries and an exemplary country for other countries.

By actively addressing the Republic of Korea’s development in textbooks
published by two of the country’s major textbook publishers, especially
geography and history textbooks, which are essential subjects in the
Dutch secondary curriculum, many Dutch students were able to learn
about the Republic of Korea accurately.