A Common History in East Asia: An Assessment of the First Joint China-Japan-Korea History Book (2005)

Divergent views of the past have often been at the center of historical animosities that divide nations. Before WWII, a number of countries in Europe began to work toward a common view of their history, and in recent decades have succeeded in producing common history textbooks. Dialogue among East Asian historians has also begun recently. In 2005, a modern history of East Asia jointly produced by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean historians was published simultaneously in all three countries. The first of its kind in the region, the book has yet to receive the scholarly attention among American historians or policy analysts it clearly deserves, particularly given the importance of history for contemporary relations in Northeast Asia.