평화통일교육의 방향과 내용 고찰

Abstract

This study analyzed the direction of unification education and the change in contents of the government, based on the unification education guideline. In 2018, the Ministry of Unification published ‘Peace and Unification Education: Direction and Viewpoint,’ which first used the term ‘Peace and Unification Education’ in government documents. It is a meaningful change in that it has redefined the direction of peaceful unification education. Peace and unification education is a way for the two Koreas to pursue peaceful coexistence and realize peaceful unification. The current guidelines for unification education can be said to be in line with the direction, but they lack much in terms of contents. Similar to the previous 2016 guidelines, negative perceptions of North Korea are mainly made up and only briefly presented about inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation. Therefore, it proposed to redefine the system of educational contents, focusing on the three main areas of unification education: the North Korea, inter-Korean relations and the unification process. It should include an objective understanding of North Korean society, a comparative analysis of its strengths and weaknesses, and looking at the experiences and lessons of various exchanges and cooperation in inter-Korean relations to revive its achievements. It proposes to revise the Unification Education Support Act and The unification education guidelines. The direction and guidelines of unification education should be set up in a way that leads to national consensus through the process of discussion by collecting public opinion. Now, it is time to try to rebuild unification education from the perspective of peace and human rights, anti-war and disarmament, conflict resolution, and peaceful education as a universal value, away from the ideological education and policy promotion that unification and security education have.