전통 교육과 '국어' 교과서의 형성 - 『소학독본』(1895)을 중심으로

Abstract

This is a study on ‘Sohak Dokbon’(Elementary reader-a textbook for elementary students) published in Nov. 1985. My interest in this study came from the fact that it was focused on pre modern values even though the country was turning into a modern society at the time of its publishing. While most text books at the time including ‘Kook Min Sohak Dokbon’, the first modern textbook, and ‘Sinjeong Simsang Sohak’ were about promoting modern knowledge and information and encouraging to learn from western societies, only ‘Sohak Dokbon’ was focused on Confucian values. In this sense, previous studies suggest that this book helps learn Chinese characters and it is similar to Confucian scriptures as it contains Confucian ideas. Studies also say that it doesn’t seem to fit well with the time. However, my opinion is that ‘Sohak Dokbon’ was not outdated at that time. Instead, it was a modern textbook written by the enlightenment party to meet the needs of the time. As the country started using Korean mixed with Chinese at that time, the book aimed to educate those in power, who focused only on Chinese classics, about the challenges they needed to deal with. The point is that the purpose of the book was different from that of other books written before. For example, the word ‘Dokbon’, which means the reader, was a newly coined word at that time. The book also was written to help with practical learning and educate about peaceful ruling, citing the teaching of the country’s sages. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of practical learning and uses Korean mixed with Chinese, which not only meets the expectations of the gentry but also reflects the changes of the time. In this regard, it can be said that this book was written to meet the educational needs of modern society. In short, the book was written to grow children into ‘a modern citizen’ so that they can adapt to changes of the time. In this sense, it helps us know how traditional education turned into a modern one. In fact, modern textbooks were able to be created thanks to not only the modernization but also the changes of the country’s traditional cultures and textbooks. My point of this study is that creating modern textbooks required not only accepting and imitating the model of western countries but also adjusting our traditional education to the changes of the time.