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VANK Cyber Diplomat Jeong Yoon-young Corrects “Gutenberg Invented Metal Type Printing” Error
🏅 Korean Elementary School Student Corrects Jikji-Related Error in Encyclopaedia Britannica
An elementary school student in Korea has successfully corrected a historical error in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, one of the world’s most authoritative English-language encyclopedias, regarding Jikji, the world’s oldest extant book printed with movable metal type.
The student, Jeong Yoon-young, a 6th grader at Mokwoon Elementary School in Seoul, is a youth cyber diplomat with the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK). As part of her activities, she had been researching Korea-related inaccuracies in international textbooks, encyclopedias, and educational websites when she discovered an error in the Britannica entry.
Originally published in 1768 in Scotland, Encyclopaedia Britannica is the oldest English-language general encyclopedia and is recognized globally for its credibility and influence.
The Britannica article in question had stated:
“In 1455, Gutenberg invented the world’s first movable metal type.“
Jeong Yoon-young submitted a correction request to the publishers, explaining that Gutenberg’s invention came 78 years after Jikji was printed in Korea in 1377.
She emphasized that Gutenberg should be described as the first person to invent movable metal type in Europe, not in the world, and supported her request by submitting detailed explanatory materials about Jikji and Korea’s printing history.
A few days later, Britannica responded, saying the editorial team would review her request. Soon afterward, the entry was revised to read:
“Johannes Gutenberg is known for having designed and built the first known mechanized printing press in Europe.“
In an interview with VANK on the 19th, Jeong said:
“At first, I thought there was no way someone like me could fix such a big error, and even writing the letter seemed intimidating. But after reading a sample letter from VANK, I thought, ‘I must correct this mistake.’
When I received a reply from Britannica and saw that the error had been fixed, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment and pride.”
Jeong, who dreams of becoming a diplomat who represents Korea positively to the world, added:
“Even though I’m Korean, I realized there’s still so much I don’t know about Korea’s history and culture. I want to continue learning and take the lead in correcting global errors about Korea.”
VANK plans to use Jeong’s successful correction as a stepping stone to raise international awareness that Gutenberg was not the first in the world to invent movable metal type, but the first in Europe.
The organization aims to share this information with major textbooks, encyclopedias, museums, and libraries around the world.