Study on the North Korean Geography Textbooks of the Kim Jong-Un Era

Abstract

North Korea’s education has been changed a lot when Kim Jong-Un taking power. This study is about textbooks among the changes in education in North Korea, and has been conducted mainly on geography textbooks used in high school. In Kim Jong-Un s period, the high school established Revolutionary History of Dear Sir Kim Jong-Un, an hour each week for three years. The period about Kim Jong-Un first appeared in Geography3, but the name of Kim Jong un was mentioned continuously in the textbook. The number of subjects and class hours in the field of political ideology learning these leadership activities has increased. In high school, geography textbooks consist of geography1, geography2, and geography3, and are assigned 1 hour per week for 3 years. Compared to Kim Jong-Il period, geography textbooks were printed in colour externally and the learning materials’ quantitative increase and qualitative improvement in content. In addition, there have been changes such as browsing and writing references, which reflects the leader s willingness to invest in education. The learning activities that were variously expressed in the existing geography textbooks were grouped using six picture symbols(icons), and attempts were made to improve the learning effect through linked learning with other subjects. In the future, research is needed to compare and understand each other, focusing on subjects commonly learned in the curriculum of South and North Korea. Through this study, if we grasp each other s teaching and learning categories and study the education system, the understanding between South and North Korea will be widened.