Dunstan High School head of social studies Jo McKay is part of a group writing a textbook which draws on interviews of New Zealand veterans of the Korean War.
The Korean War was fought between North and South Korea from 1950 until 1953 when an armistice agreement was reached.
New Zealand sent about 6000 soldiers under United Nations command — 45 men died.
Ms McKay met South Korean historian Jongwoo Han at a history teachers’ conference last year, and he invited her to join a group of about ten people writing a textbook on New Zealand in the Korean War.
Dr Han is the president of the Korean War Legacy Foundation and conducts video interviews with veterans from across the 22 UN nations who fought alongside South Korea during the war.
"Obviously South Korea are heavily invested in keeping this whole topic alive, because for them, the war’s not over," Ms McKay said.
The publicly available interviews are then used by academics from each country to produce a free, digital textbook to be used by educators when teaching the conflict.
Ms McKay said she had always wanted to write a textbook — and even better, it was accessible.
"The problem with teaching is nothing is ever free ... it’s free, it’s for teachers, it benefits kids."
The Korean War was an interesting geopolitical war — one of the few "hotspots" in the Cold War, she said.
"The Korean War is often called the forgotten war because it’s sandwiched between World War 2 ... [where] everyone gave everything, and the Vietnam War, which was incredibly controversial for lots of different reasons.
"To understand what’s going on in places like Ukraine and in Gaza, people need to have a much better idea of conflict rather than ‘you fight the baddies and then you win’."
Ultimately, the goal was to help teachers drive students’ critical thinking.
"I don’t care what we learn in history, I care that [it is] interesting and engaging and makes you think hard.
"Kids want to be told the answer ... but they need to decide on the answer."
In August, she travelled with some of the New Zealand authors to Cambridge, England to launch the English curriculum’s book.
"We sometimes forget about that really important link we have with the Commonwealth, and our soldiers make an impact," Ms McKay said.
While there, she met English veteran Michael "Mike" Mogridge, who was drafted to fight in the war.
He spoke about being driven back and forth from the frontlines by Māori soldiers.
"He remembers them singing to the point where ... his favourite song is Pōkarekare Ana."
Ms Mckay was hoping to meet New Zealand veterans and encouraged any to contact her.
