One of the most important functions of education is socialization to maintain social system. Therefore, it is suggested that Social Study is a representative subject in doing such a job.
This study compares and analysis curriculums and textbooks of ...
One of the most important functions of education is socialization to maintain social system. Therefore, it is suggested that Social Study is a representative subject in doing such a job.
This study compares and analysis curriculums and textbooks of the subject in North Korea and South Korea centering on Social Study in high schools.
This study consists of comparative research on curriculums and textbooks of Social Study in high schools to understand and find out entire structure and characteristics of social study, its homogeneity and heterogeneity between North Korea and South Korea.
The result follows : the object of social of South Korean is to cultivate democratic citizens and that of North Korea is to bring up socialistic citizens. In South and North Korea the curriculums of social studies are exploited as ways to maintain ruling structures of nation, and especially in North Korea, are availed as an instrument of Kim Il-sung & Kim Jung-il's monolithic thought system. It is a common inclination in these two sides that nation take the lead in developing social studies textbooks.
In these both sides the contents of textbooks about value system are different each other. The textbooks of South Korean contain political, economic and sociocultural sphere evenly, on the basis of knowledge in social science. To cultivate democratic citizen, they have contents to promote the originality and spirit of inquiry. On the contrary North Korea concentrates her effort on political education to cultivate their people as socialistic citizen. To achieve this goal, North Korean textbooks contains mainly monolithic thought system lying stress on two Kim's achievement.
So, the result of the comparative analysis in the social studies object, curriculums and textbooks of South and North Korea indicate that the differences are more common then likeness in education object, notion and the contents of social studies textbook of these two Koreas. In the future of reunification of South and North Korea, the plan for integrating the social studies will be much more difficult then that of any other studies. When South and North Korea achieve reunification, the contents of social studies should be reformed to match with the structure of a new nation. As a preparation of reunification, it is necessary for South and North Korea to research actively on social studies to prevent heterogeneity.