Analysis of Research Trends on North Korean Adult Education

Abstract

North Korea's adult education is basically oriented to the socialist educational philosophy, and all education is being developed with an emphasis on nurturing socialist human beings. In preparation for the upcoming unification society, the need for a balanced attitude toward North Korean education is being raised by evaluating North Korean education as it is after the Cold War, rather than viewing it unconditionally negatively. Therefore, in this study, for the purpose of objective analysis of North Korean adult education, research on North Korean adult education was classified and analyzed by the period of North Korean rule, research method, and research subject area, and the research direction and progress of North Korean adult education were identified and analyzed. We would like to suggest future tasks. As a result of the research, the research on adult education in North Korea is generally lacking in quantitative terms, and in terms of research methods, it is concentrated on literature research that analyzes and interprets the current situation based on North Korean data. Lastly, North Korea seems to neglect adult education compared to school education, and even that is more of a political ideologicalization rather than an education aimed at promoting the values and behaviors of adults. In particular, North Korea's adult education is far from South Korea's lifelong education, which focuses on the political ideology education required by the North Korean authorities to develop individual adult potential and enjoy life satisfaction. In order to close this gap, South Korean lifelong education should focus on North Korea-related research, and at the same time, North Korea's educational research needs to expand the discussion in terms of lifelong education.