CANKO SOCIETY FOR AI AND SOCIAL VALUE

Abstract

This study critically examines the enduring presence and ideological function of the “homogeneous nation” narrative in Korean history education. Rooted in the nationalist historiography of the early 20th century, the idea of Korea as a single-race, single-language, and single-culture nation has served as a powerful organizing principle for national identity in both South and North Korea. Initially formulated in resistance to Japanese colonial narratives of Korean backwardness and fragmentation, the myth of ethnic homogeneity became institutionalized through state education systems after liberation in 1945. In South Korea, this narrative was further consolidated during periods of authoritarian rule, particularly under the military regimes of the 1960s to 1980s, when national unity was emphasized as a means of political control. The ideological thrust of history education during this time relied heavily on the portrayal of Korea as an ancient and continuous ethnic nation-state, a notion repeated in textbooks and curricula with little critical reflection. However, contemporary Korean society is undergoing rapid demographic and cultural transformation. The rise of multicultural families, increased immigration, North Korean defectors, and diasporic returnees challenge the conventional framework of a homogenous national identity. Despite these shifts, current history textbooks and curricula continue to reproduce essentialist and exclusionary conceptions of ethnicity and belonging. This disjuncture raises pressing questions: Why does the myth of homogeneity persist in educational discourse? How does it shape students’ historical consciousness and civic identity? And what are the consequences of perpetuating a narrow, ethnically defined national identity in an increasingly pluralistic society? To explore these questions, the study employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as its primary methodology. It analyzes the content and structure of national curriculum documents (2009, 2015, and 2022 revisions), major secondary school history textbooks, and teacher guidelines published by the Ministry of Education. The theoretical framework draws on Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of discourse, as well as conceptual insights from Benedict Anderson’s theory of imagined communities and Eric Hobsbawm’s constructivist view of nationalism. In addition to textual analysis, the study incorporates in-depth interviews with history teachers, and focus group discussions with students—including those from multicultural backgrounds—to better understand how the narrative of ethnic homogeneity is received, reinforced, or contested in classroom settings. The findings of this research are expected to contribute to a more critical understanding of how nationalism operates through education, not merely as an expression of collective pride, but as a mechanism for ideological reproduction and boundary maintenance. By revealing the ways in which the homogeneous nation myth has been naturalized within educational discourse, the study challenges the assumption that ethnic unity is a timeless and apolitical foundation of Korean identity. Instead, it calls for a reimagining of history education that embraces inclusive civic identity, acknowledges historical ethnic diversity, and fosters democratic values in a multicultural society. This shift is especially urgent given Korea’s evolving demographic reality and its aspiration to participate fully in the global community. Ultimately, this research aims to provide both theoretical and empirical grounds for curriculum reform. It offers a concrete critique of existing nationalist frameworks in education and proposes alternative approaches to teaching history that align with the principles of pluralism, equity, and critical pedagogy. Furthermore, by situating the Korean case within broader international debates on nationalism and education, the study contributes to comparative research in global history education and offers policy-relevant insights into the challenges and opportunities of teaching national identity in the 21st century.

Authors

• AI (First Author), Machine – ai.social.value@gmail.com