고등학교 <동아시아사>의 성격과 체계

Abstract

<East Asian History> has been newly selected as an optional history subject in the Revised National Curriculum 2007. <East Asian History> is going to be included in 2nd/3rd year high school syllabus from 2012 after four years’development process. <East Asian History> is intended to help resolve historic conflicts among Korea/China/Japan by cultivating ‘objective and balanced understanding of regional past and present’and ‘a perspective toward mutual prosperity and regional peace’. Such an effort of solving the current controversy through history education is a forward thinking and practical initiative in that it is intended to ‘build peaceful future that ensures the co-existence of East Asians’ and it is pragmatic as the proposal is underlining a very basic approach that is ‘mutual understanding.’<East Asian History> as a regional history will, also, hopefully promote historical interest in students by helping them overcome the chauvinistic nature of‘ onenation history’and the value-free tendency of ‘all-inclusive world history’and by opening their eyes to‘ world history expanding from myself and providing solution for ourselves.’ <East Asian History> covers mainly four countries’(Korea, China, Japan, and Vietnam) historic facts from prehistoric times to present ones；Larger chapters are organised on historic periods and each one proposes 4-5 target points for thematic presentations. Bigger social changes that have occurred in East Asia are the main criteria for larger chapters. And the contents of each chapter mainly covers the most important elements in each period and major contrasts among different locales. <East Asian History> should focus on, rather than region- or culture-specific superiority, those points；regional diversity as the basis for East Asian civilization, historic facts(moments) not skewed to the current national interests, the nature of the East Asia which is open to not only the region but the world, the fact that the people in the East Asia have stood against external momentum, and future-oriented perspectives which is useful dealing with various conflicts in the region. <East Asian History> is still unclear about its true identity although it has been announced as a formal subject. The answer does not seem to appear as an easy one either. For one, it is a totally new approach：this attempt has been deemed ‘a case of history studies being driven by history education.’For another, no countries in the entire region has opened this kind of history subject at middle or high school. That is why teachers and researchers are absolutely required to dedicate their enthusiasm in finding the right place of <East Asian History> in school. This article, as a general scheme of its purpose and contents from a developer, can contribute to prompting a series of such participation.