[Field Report] 2023 Unification Education Leading Universities Conference: In Search of a Desirable Unification Education Model.

ORIGINAL LINK : https://blog.naver.com/PostView.naver?blogId=gounikorea&logNo=223304518793

Discussion on the Achievements and Future of Leading Universities in Unification Education

The Need to Expand Unification Education Beyond Universities

Hello, subscribers to the Ministry of Unification blog! This is Han Ji-soo, the 16th reporter. I’m curious how you’re doing in this severe cold. Please take care of your health. Meanwhile, a passionate academic conference between leading universities in unification education took place, which could even blow away this cold. I’m going to introduce the content of the conference from now on!

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The ‘2023 Unification Education Leading University Joint Academic Conference: The Future of Unification Education’ was hosted by the Unification Education Leading University Union, and was jointly organized by Ewha Womans University and Chungbuk National University. The event took place on December 21 at the ECC Theater of Ewha Womans University.

△2023 Unification Education Leading University Joint Academic Conference: Future of Unification Education Poster (ⓒEwha Womans University)

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First, let me briefly introduce what the Leading University in Unification Education is. The ‘Designation and Promotion of Leading Universities in Unification Education’ is one of the projects of the National Institute of Unification Education. It is selected through a competition, and aims to develop excellent models of university unification education and activate unification education for university students. Most of them operate for a total of 4 years.

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△2023 Unification Education Leading University Recruitment Press Release (ⓒNational Institute of Unification Education)

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In the first part, ‘Research on the Development of Future University Unification Education Courses’, a presentation on Ewha Womans University’s new unification education, in the second part, ‘The Present and Limitations of University Unification Education’, a presentation on the achievements and limitations of the Leading University in Unification Education project, and in the third part, ‘Suggestions for the Future of University Unification Education’, a presentation on the project proposals of the first and second year Leading Universities in Unification Education were discussed. Due to time constraints, I was unable to attend the first part, so this article will only cover the second and third parts. Thank you for your understanding.

Part 2: The Present and Limitations of University Unification Education

Creating a Space to Freely Discuss ‘Peace’ and ‘Unification’

△Professor Yoon Chul-ki of Seoul National University of Education (ⓒReporter Han Ji-soo)

The first presenter in Part 2, Professor Yoon Chul-ki (Seoul National University of Education), introduced a new project to develop a peace and unification education textbook called “Turning the Classroom into a Square”. As you may know, discussions about North Korea are always intertwined with political issues, so they cannot be properly dealt with in the educational field. Therefore, by compiling a textbook on the topic of ‘peace’ and ‘unification’, it was emphasized that the limitations that elementary school teachers have had so far can be supplemented.

Two Important Axes for Activating Unification Education: ‘Incentives’ and ‘Accessibility’

△Professor Choi Kyung-won of Gyeonggi University (ⓒReporter Han Ji-soo)

The second presenter, Professor Choi Kyung-won (Gyeonggi University), introduced Gyeonggi University’s ‘Next Generation Peace and Unification Talent Development Program’, emphasizing that unification education should also help future employment. He also continuously emphasized the importance of accessibility, saying that K-MOOC courses that anyone can take greatly improve accessibility. Gyeonggi University announced that it has secured both incentives and accessibility through the ‘Introduction and Dissemination of South-North Cooperation Theory’.

What are the Various Promotion Strategies for Raising Unification Consciousness?

△Professor So Sung-kyu of Daejin University (ⓒReporter Han Ji-soo)

The third presenter, Professor So Sung-kyu (Daejin University), introduced various promotional strategies of Daejin University. In particular, Daejin University’s unification education character ‘Tongyi (通異)’, and the establishment of a YouTube channel using ‘Tongyi’ are unique promotional strategies. Also, the designation of the general education required course, ‘Peace and Unification Story with Tongyi’, is a very special case, and it was emphasized that it is the first offline general education required course of the first unification education leading university.

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△YouTube “Peace and Unification Story with Tongyi” Channel Capture (ⓒYouTube)

Towards Unification Education Not Limited to Majors

△Professor Lee Yeon-ho of Chungbuk National University (ⓒReporter Han Ji-soo)

The fourth presenter, Professor Lee Yeon-ho (Chungbuk National University), introduced ‘major-customized unification education’ that is not limited to the realm of humanities and social sciences. The content is to support a customized peace and unification program for departments that were considered irrelevant to unification education. Various experts were invited by department, and a related competition was held to provide incentives for participation.

Part 2 Discussion “Conversion to Required General Education, Activation of Unification Discussion, Securing Incentives for Current Students”

△A view of the Part 2 discussion taking place (ⓒReporter Han Ji-soo)

Various suggestions were then made by the discussants.

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Professor Han Jin-soo (Kyungin National University of Education) mentioned, “Although university students are the main targets of university unification education, it is necessary to have special lectures targeting not only elementary, middle, and high schools, but also general citizens.”