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The System of Writing Korean History Textbooks

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2019

Abstract

This presentation aims to introduce Republic of Korea's (ROK) and Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) approach to history education with focus on textbook compilation system and how it changed during the second half of the 20th century and the early 2000's. As a primary source of one's image of his or hers own nation it is important to view how history textbooks transformed during this period and how different leaders influenced the contents.

The presentation attempts not only to describe the system of history textbook compilation but also to describe Korean approach to implementation of history into school education. In the case of ROK, the presentation focuses on three main stages: era of new state (1950-60s), era of textbooks designated by state (1970-90s) and the modern era.

In case of DPRK, the presentation focuses mostly on first years after the establishment of the new state and the change brought by Kim Il-sŏng and his personal cult, lastly it attempts to characterize the system of history textbooks writing in 1990's.