Textbook on ethics used in Korea

3 Comments Posted by on August 4, 2013

This is the textbook on ethics “도덕” employed in elementary schools in Korea today. The very existence of such a class as part of the daily program is remarkable. Whereas such teaching of ethics once seemed rather old-fashioned, it has a certain appeal today granted the decline of efforts to promote a discussion on ethics in the classroom in the United States.

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The importance of expressing thanks.

The importance of expressing thanks.

 

I was also struck by the efforts to address multicultural issues and the children of “multicultural families” (as the phrase goes in Korean).

This page relates a diary entry by Jeonghyeon, an elementary school student whose mother is Vietnamese. Jeonghyeon says she has no memories of her Vietnamese grandmother and grandfather and seems not to actually live in that complex multicultural family. Nevertheless, it is a tremendous improvement to create this space in which multicultural kids can exist within the official textbooks.

 

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An introduction to the diversity of the world.

An introduction to the diversity of the world.

 

The world seen by the third grader.

The world seen by the third grader.

 

Education, Today in Korea

3 responses to “Textbook on ethics used in Korea”

  1. Pingback: Korean Sociological Image #78: Multicultural Families in Korean Textbooks | The Grand Narrative

  2. Roderik Michaël Kelder October 22, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    Dear Mr. Pastreich,

    I am currently writing my bachelor’s thesis on the role of the Korean government in the treatment of South Korean marriage migrants and the ‘multicultural family. I have a particular interest in the role of education in the establishment of a so-called ‘multicultural society’ and wonder in what way the South Korean government is currently socializing young Korean children to deal with people with mixed heritage. Therefore, I would like to ask you whether it wouldn’t be possible for you to foto-copy or scan certain sections of the above civics textbook that deal with this issue so that I can translate them and interpret them as data for my research. Should that be too much to ask however, could you then provide me with the bibliographical data so that I could look into options of purchasing the book myself.

    Thank you in advance for your reply,

    Yours sincerely,

    Roderik Kelder

    Reply
  3. Roderik Michaël Kelder October 22, 2013 at 4:34 pm

    Dear Mr. Pastreich,

    I am currently writing my bachelor’s thesis on the role of the Korean government in the treatment of South Korean marriage migrants and the ‘multicultural family. I have a particular interest in the role of education in the establishment of a so-called ‘multicultural society’ and wonder in what way the South Korean government is currently socializing young Korean children to deal with people with mixed heritage. Therefore, I would like to ask you whether it wouldn’t be possible for you to foto-copy or scan certain sections of the above civics textbook that deal with this issue so that I can translate them and interpret them as data for my research. Should that be too much to ask however, could you then provide me with the bibliographical data so that I could look into options of purchasing the book myself.

    Thank you in advance for your reply,

    Yours sincerely,

    Roderik Kelder

    Reply

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