Plan to Increase Modern and Contemporary History Curriculum in Middle Schools from 20% to 30%

The National Education Commission is pushing for a plan to increase the proportion of modern and contemporary history in the middle school history curriculum.
The commission reached this decision during a meeting held today at the Government Complex Seoul, where it deliberated on whether to proceed with revisions to the 2022 revised curriculum for middle and high school history, as requested by the Ministry of Education.
As a result, the proportion of modern and contemporary history within middle school history textbooks will increase from the current 20% to 30% starting in 2030.
The background for this push for revision lies in the recent controversy surrounding the so-called Starbucks mocking cheers performed by members of the baseball team at Baejae High School in Seoul.
Both inside and outside the commission, there have been calls to strengthen modern and contemporary history education to ensure that students learn accurate historical facts and to prevent mockery or hate speech based on distorted historical perceptions.
Cha Jeong-in, Chairperson of the National Education Commission, noted the necessity of increasing the proportion, stating that the volume of modern and contemporary history in middle school history textbooks was too small and should have been corrected originally.
On the other hand, concerns are also being raised.
The expert committee of the National Education Commission pointed out that pushing for another revision before the 2022 revised curriculum has even been applied to all grade levels could undermine the stability and credibility of the curriculum.
There were also opposing opinions suggesting that it would be difficult to avoid criticism that history education changes depending on the administration in power.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.