The Alienation of History from Historical Education in Korea and Pending Issues for Communication

History as a discipline and history education, which should be complementary, are certainly not so in Korea nowadays. This situation is related with the crippled state of academia in the modern and current day Korea. While history as a discipline aims to explain the fact using historical evidence, historical education enables students to learn facts and the meanings and values of history so as to enhance their historical thinking ability; thus both fields have their own roles. There are differences as well as similarities in history as a discipline and history education in their purpose of study, which are characteristics to be complemented and reconciled. Moreover, what will bring history as a discipline and history education together would be secular history, that is, the whole history as history. The relation between history as a discipline and history education in the secondary history education curriculum, therefore, should be complementary and comprehensive with a focus on history.BR For the reconciliation between history and history education, educational principles, the purpose of the school system, and the status of the history subject should be established. First, political leanings or realistic interests should not be reflected in secondary education. Second, the Korean History subject and the World History subject need to be normalized. For this the history discipline should break away from the social studies discipline. Third, the independence and originality of the College of Education should be ensured.