This study is aimed at deriving a reform plan for the history lesson by analyzing learning of thematic unit history, researched and developed by Kobe University Secondary School. The characteristic of the learning of thematic unit history is that it consists of units that organically connect each one-hour class based on a specific topic, and utilize various learning methods that can promote learners’ independent learning and historical thinking. Learning of thematic unit history provides clues that can fundamentally transform the conventional one-hour knowledge transmission and teacher-centered history lesson paradigm. The principle of the learning content composition and learning method of thematic unit history present many implications for improvement of Korean history lesson. First, history teachers may utilize the content composition that emphasizes time series while composing units around the subject, as a way to reorganize educational content. Second, if the entire unit is organized into theme-centered learning and a learning type consists of lessons with different characteristics each time, learners will be able to independently utilize various learning methods for further study. Third, learning of thematic unit history makes the learners acquire the basic conceptual knowledge of history, and develop theme-centered learning based on the knowledge, which results in an organic combination of the acquisition of knowledge and the cultivation of historical skills and abilities. Finally, the following issues were raised in the research and development process of learning of thematic unit history. First, the rationale for setting the theme as the axis of the curriculum is unclear. It is necessary to keep in mind the overall history formed through learning of unit and set the topics of each unit in an organic relations. Second, it is not clear at what standard the basic conceptual knowledge to be learned in each unit is established. It is necessary for teachers to analyze and extract the curriculum and textbooks, and to organically associate them with the subject of each unit, rather than arbitrarily selecting the basic conceptual knowledge to be learned through the learning of unit.