Critical Analysis of the Portrayal of Environmental Issues in Chinese Language Textbooks for Ethnic Koreans

This article examines how Chinese language textbooks, produced for ethnic Koreans by ethnic Koreans in China, portray environmental issues in China. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Visual Image Analysis (VIA) are used to investigate what environmental content is integrated and what ideologies these textbooks construct. Chinese language textbooks published in 2012 and 2022 were chosen as they are the most recently published versions for primary school students of Korean ethnic background. The analytical findings show that the textbooks defer responsibility for environmental problems to the global community rather than portraying them as China’s problem and responsibility to solve. The causes and nature of these problems are simplified—only dumping and deforestation are addressed. It is found that the textbooks analyzed in this paper serve the interests of the owners of domestic and multinational companies and of the government officials and agents who collaborate with them, while ignoring the needs of the citizens and students who are suffering the effects of serious pollution. Thus, educators using these textbooks should strongly consider introducing more real and specific Chinese pollution data to raise awareness of the reality of global environmental problems, and introduce critical perspectives, in order to develop environmentally-aware students.