President's Memoir and Opposition Politician's Book on Middle School's Summer Reading List Sparks Backlash

A middle school in Seoul has decided to revise its summer reading recommendation list after facing a barrage of complaints from parents for including a book by a Democratic Party politician and an autobiographical essay by President Lee Jae-myung.

According to the school and local sources, a middle school located in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, distributed a list of "recommended subject-specific books for the summer vacation" to students during its closing ceremony on the 21st.

The list featured around 60 books selected by teachers across 14 subjects, including ethics, Korean language, mathematics, and social studies. Among them, the social studies section included "The 1020 Far-Right is Coming" and "My Child Worker Diary."

"The 1020 Far-Right is Coming" addresses the phenomenon of right-wing leaning among teenagers and young adults in their twenties and its background, authored by Jung Min-chul, a vice-chairman of the Democratic Party's policy committee.

Another recommended book, "My Child Worker Diary," is an autobiographical essay by President Lee Jae-myung.

The book compiles diary entries written by President Lee over a 10-year period, spanning from his days as a 16-year-old factory worker to his time at the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

The school explained that there were educational reasons behind the selection of both books.

A school official stated that regarding "The 1020 Far-Right is Coming," they judged it necessary to guide students against the backdrop of recent incidents such as the Baejae High School controversy, noting that students often use slang from sites like Ilbe without much critical awareness.

The official added that they primarily considered whether the content of the book would be educationally beneficial to students rather than the author's political background.

Regarding President Lee Jae-myung's "My Child Worker Diary," the school explained that it was recommended with the intention of having students learn about the journey of an individual who overcame a difficult family background as a child laborer to eventually become the governor of Gyeonggi Province and the President.

However, after the list was made public, protests from some parents reportedly followed.

Complaints submitted to the school included criticisms such as, "Why is the school recommending books by politicians from a specific party?" and "Is it appropriate to tell students to read a book by the incumbent president?"

As the controversy continued, the school ultimately decided to review the entire recommended book list.

In a school notice sent to parents today, the school stated, "We have received opinions and concerns from parents regarding the appropriateness of certain books, and we are taking this matter very seriously."

Reported by Kim Min-jeong | Video by Lee Da-in | Design by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.