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ABSTRACT
This study explores what it means to be Korean as seen in North and South Korean elementary school textbooks. Mass schooling transforms students into national citizens belonging to specific nation-states, an exercise particularly important for both the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. To gain insight into how these nations envision their ideal citizens and use national education for legitimisation, we analyze elementary school textbooks as data points for the respective Koreas. We find that North and South Korea define two separate and distinct national identities for their students, focussing more on the institutional differences between the two states than on their shared cultural and ethnic heritage. In their struggle to claim the true Korean identity, they exclude the other Korea from their definition of their respective identities, reinforcing the differences between the two nation-states.
摘要
本文探究北朝鲜与南韩小学课本中所体现的作为“朝鲜人”的含义。普及教育把学生塑造成为了从属于特定民族国家的公民，这一实践对于朝鲜民主主义共和国和大韩民国来说尤其重要。为深入了解这两个国家是如何构想其理想的公民以及如何通过国家教育对此进行合法化，我们将各自国家的小学课本作为数据点展开分析。我们发现北朝鲜和南韩为本国学生定义了两个分离且不同的国家身份，更多地侧重于两国之间的制度差异而非所共享的文化和民族传统。在争取真正的“朝鲜人”身份的过程中，他们将另一“朝鲜”的身份排除在对各自身份的定义之外，故而强化了两个民族国家之间的差异。
注：中文传统语境中，用“朝鲜”指代整个朝鲜半岛的民族是一种相对更加通用的做法，因此我们选用“朝鲜人”（而不是“韩国人”）来翻译摘要中带有民族含义的“Korean”一词。不过我们认为对该名称的翻译并没有一个完美的方案。尽管翻译为“朝鲜人”也可能导致误解，但是在我们看来，这或许是争议最小的选择。
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 The Republic of South Korea was proclaimed a sovereign state on August 15, 1948 and the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea was proclaimed a sovereign state on September 9, 1948.
2 We define national narrative as the state-approved historical discourse familiar to the general population and is part of the national curriculum.
3 Korea has been a single national entity sharing the same foundation myth with the formation of the first Korean state of Gojoseon in 2333 BC. The national foundation day 3 October is still celebrated in both South and North Koreas. Korea had been a sovereign nation state, though the name of the sovereign state has changed – e.g. the unified Shilla (668-935) to Goreyo [Koryŏ] (918–1392) to Joseon (1392–1897) and then to the Korean Empire (transcripted as Daehan Jeguk) (1897–1910) until it became annexed to Japan.
4 The line of separation was decided by two young American officers, Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel, on August 10, 1945 with the aid of a National Geographic magazine.
5 This war is referred to as the Glorious Fatherland Liberation War in North Korea and in South Korea it is known as the 6.25 War, referring to the date of the North Korean invasion.
6 Kim Il-Sung’s son, Kim Jong-Il, was the second leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
7 Students are exposed to communist beliefs, participate in physical education to prepare for future military service, and more recently, acquire science skills to push technological advancement (S. Kim Citation2017)
8 This includes formal organizations for homemakers, farmers, and government officials.
9 As this information is from defectors, it is important to remember this may or may not be entirely factual. Time may contort memories of school. From the textbook sample of this research, there were no mentions of Kim Il-Sung making grenades out of pinecones or teleportation. However, there are many mentions of Kim Il-Sung playing a critical role in defeating the Japanese.
10 South Korea revised the national curriculum in 1953, including inclusion of such topics as democracy and capitalism
11 The authors would like to note that the name of the original theory by Connor (Citation1978) is ‘national identity theory.’ However, due to the possible misleading nature of the name and the potential confusion with the paper’s definition of ‘national identity,’ the authors will refer to Connor’s theory as ‘ethnic identity theory.’
12 There is an exception for 2010–2019: we utilize two textbooks from each country to offer a more nuanced understanding of trends in the 21st century. We utilize convenience sampling as it is difficult to find outdated textbooks, as textbooks from the 1960s and 1970s are not resold or digitized.
13 Dedoose is a qualitative software
14 For our study, we gather textbooks from the Stanford East Asia Library, the National Library for Children and Young Adults in Seoul, and the Information Center on North Korea located in the National Library of Korea in Seoul. Our selection of civics, language, and ethics textbooks published over 60 years is a purposeful selection: it is in these subjects North and South Korea address issues pertaining to national and ethnic identity.
15 For example, we analyze a first grade Communist Morals textbook from North Korea and a fourth-grade Democratic citizen textbook from the South for the 2000s because both include narratives of civic engagement and contain similar levels of text-to-image ratios.
16 We are mindful of studying the East from a Western gaze and aware of the often-negative lens of North Korea we are surrounded by in the United States. To combat these biases, we create precise definitions of codes and stray away from prejudiced adjectives—especially of North Korea.
17 One text-coder, the second author, immigrated to the United State at age six and though fluent in Korean, did not attend school in South Korea. The second text-coder, a South Korean national, completed high school in Korea before coming to the United States for undergraduate and graduate studies. By having the two Korean-speakers code separately, we validate for consistency and accuracy. We also collaborate with two native-Korean speakers to translate more nuanced terminology.
18 All translations are conducted by the second author. We recognize the limitations of translations and will provide more nuanced information via endnotes when necessary.
19 The phrase ‘evil Americans’ is an approximate translation: nom means something in between jerk and bastard. It is often used in North Korea to describe Americans, Japanese, and capitalists.
20 The chollima, or ‘thousand-mile horse,’ is a mythical winged horse from China. It is an important image in North Korea, as it was used by Kim Il-Sung’s after the Korean War to promote economic resurgence through work. Several statues of the chollima are in Pyongyang, dedicated to the ‘heroism, the constant, fighting spirit of the Korean people, and the innovations and advance so quickly, at the speed of the chollima.’ Communist symbols include the hammer and sickle, red star, red flags, and ploughs which belong to the global communist ideology and are not unique to North Korea.
21 The word for ‘kite’ in Korean both refers to a kite and means deep connection.
22 The hanbok (South Korea) or Joseonot (North Korea) is worn for formal or semi-formal situations in both countries. The name literally means ‘Korean clothing,’ referring to the Joseon period of Korean history (late 19th century) when the dress was established as indigenous dress as opposed to new styles arriving with foreign visitors. Bowing is the traditional way to greet an elder or respect ancestors.
23 The timeframe of this textbook indicates the audience of the material are the children of those who experienced the war.
24 The title of the chapter is referring to both meanings of kite, which in Korean both refers to a kite and means deep connection
25 For example, both countries show farming as an important national industry post-war, allowing them to recover and grow.
26 The Joseon Dynasty refers to the five centuries of the Korean dynastic kingdom that preceded the Korean Empire, which was the last unified Korean state.
27 North Korea achieved an impressive post Korean War growth rate through the rapid mobilization of its labor force and significant amounts of aid from communist countries, notably China and the Soviet Union.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Chealin Won
Chealin Won completed her master’s programme in International Comparative Education at Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2019 and her undergraduate degree at Vassar College in 2017. Her research interests include construction of national identities, education in conflict zones, and peace education. She is also passionate about international affairs, especially in the East Asia Pacific.
Anne Huntington
Anne Huntington completed her master’s programme in International Comparative Education at Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2019 and her undergraduate degree at the University of Notre Dame in 2012. Her research interests include construction of elementary education and curriculum design. She is passionate about transforming schools into mechanisms for social good for students, teachers, families, and communities.