김정일 시대 북한의 학교 통일교육 -중학교 교과서 분석을 중심으로-

Abstract

An examination of the ways in which discussions on national reunification is expressed in North Korean education is expected to provide a meaningful clue to understanding the reunification discourses of North Korea. Consequently,the present study examined the contents of North Korean middle school textbooks related to reunification in terms of the keywords “understanding of the problem of reunification”, “understanding of South Korea”, and “efforts for reunification”, thus grasping the significance and position of reunification in North Korea. First, in understanding the problem of reunification, all causes and responsibilities for national division and its consequent problems as well as difficulties to emerge in the reunification process are shifted on the United States and South Korea. In addition, instead of being seen equally and fairly as a joint subject of reunification, South Korea is taught solely as an object that must be liberated from a paternalistic viewpoint. Likewise, as for the obvious necessity of reunification, many explanations are biased towards a revolutionary and nationalistic viewpoint, thus requiring a more balanced perspective. Second, an objective understanding of South Korea has yet to be achieved. South Korea is described in textbooks in a thoroughly distorted way, as an unliberated region subjugated by and suffering under the United States. This is likely to prevent students from having objective ideas about reunification, thus eventually acting as an obstacle in the process of realizing reunification. Third, as the attitudes demanded of students as a part of efforts for reunification, Loyalty to North Korean leaders, dedication to the Workers’Party of Korea and the homeland, instillation of a spirit of struggle against the United States, and a perception of the superiority of the North Korean system and reunification plan can be cited. In addition, as the wisest method of achieving reunification, the implementation of the Three Principles of Unification and the federal reunification plan is emphasized. On the contrary,there is no detailed explanation on the process of realizing the federal plan or the future of the reunified homeland.