'Freedom Democracy' Included in 2022 Revised Curriculum... Gender Equality Removed (Comprehensive)

2022 Revised Curriculum Administrative Notice from 9th to 29th
Policy Researchers Maintain Original Position After Public Hearing
Ministry of Education Adds 'Liberal Democracy' Notation Through Related Committee
Removes Gender Equality Expression, Changes to 'Ethical Issues of Gender Discrimination'
Also Revises Expressions Related to Sexual Minorities

Jang Sang-yoon, Vice Minister of Education, is briefing on the administrative notice draft of the 2022 elementary and secondary school curriculum and special education curriculum revision at the Government Seoul Office on the 9th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Starting from 2024, the Ministry of Education has decided to include the term "liberal democracy" in the 2022 revised curriculum, which will be applied sequentially. The term "gender equality" has been removed.

The Ministry of Education will conduct an administrative notice for the revision proposals of the "Elementary and Secondary School Curriculum" and the "Special Education Curriculum" from the 9th to the 29th.

Jang Sang-yoon, Deputy Minister of Education, explained, "Every time the curriculum is revised, there have been social controversies and conflicts surrounding certain subjects. The government has transparently disclosed all processes of curriculum revision, including releasing the draft prepared by the research team. We were able to confirm once again the high public interest and concerns regarding history education and sex education."

The Ministry of Education pushed to include controversial items such as the expression "liberal democracy," which was demanded by conservative groups, through the curriculum revision consultative body and the curriculum review committee. The request to describe liberal democracy was adjusted by the Ministry after the policy research team maintained the original draft even after the public hearing. The expression "North Korean invasion during the Korean War" in history subjects was reflected and revised by the policy research team before the public hearing.

The Ministry of Education stated, "The term 'liberal democracy' is a commonly used term in the Constitution, Constitutional Court decisions, and related laws, and is explicitly stated in the preamble of the Constitution, making it a term agreed upon by the public." A Ministry official added, "There was also controversy over the use of 'liberal democracy' during the 2011 and 2018 history curriculum revisions, which was adjusted through the committee."

The Ministry of Education took direct action to include the term "liberal democracy," which had differences with the policy research team, and to exclude the term "gender equality." Regarding the expression of liberal democracy, a Ministry official explained, "The Ministry led the process through the curriculum review committee's steering committee to adjust the issue because the policy research team did not reflect the public's concerns."

Expressions related to sexual minorities and gender equality, which were criticized by conservative groups, were also significantly revised. In the ethics subject, the term "gender equality" was changed to "prejudice about gender," and "the meaning of gender equality" was revised to "the ethical problem of gender discrimination." In the health subject, the phrase "sexual and reproductive health and rights" was changed to "sexual and reproductive health and rights," clearly mentioning that the learning content includes "health management related to sex, pregnancy, childbirth, and rights such as parental leave."

In the explanation of achievement standards for integrated social studies in high school, the part that expressed "social minorities" as "people with disabilities, migrant foreigners, sexual minorities, etc." was revised and supplemented to "members of society who are discriminated against due to gender, age, race, nationality, disability, etc." A Ministry official said, "There were concerns during the opinion collection process that explicitly mentioning 'sexual minorities' as an example of social minorities might promote the 'third gender.' The detailed adjustment committee and the review committee also conveyed concerns that it could confuse adolescents whose sexual identity is being established, and this decision considered various situations."

Regarding issues raised by parents about sex-related content, the Ministry of Education maintained a conservative stance. Deputy Minister Jang Sang-yoon said, "There is a wide spectrum in society about whether to view sexual minorities and existing genders as binary or to recognize a third gender. Some people do not accept the parts currently being discussed. There were issues raised about the concepts of sexual minorities and gender equality in the draft, and the research team objectively reviewed the draft through the adjustment committee and the curriculum review committee, which is reflected in this administrative notice."

The controversial content related to Korean traditional music in the music subject was separately presented in the content system and achievement standards, reflecting the connection with the 2015 revised curriculum based on the recommendations of the consultative body. The elementary school social studies achievement standards and explanations included "freedom of enterprise" and "free economic activities of enterprises," and the middle school social studies subject specified "market economy" and "market economy based on free competition." Reflecting the demand to clarify the allocation standards for information education hours, the wording was changed from "can be organized and operated" to "shall be organized and operated" with at least 34 hours for elementary and 68 hours for secondary education.

Content strengthening safety education after the Itaewon disaster was also reflected. A legal basis was established to link safety education with related subjects and creative experiential activities, and safety education involving education, experience, and practice in densely crowded situations was strengthened. Safety rules for densely crowded environments were included in elementary integrated, physical education, music, and art subjects, and provisions to enhance crisis response capabilities were reflected in the health subject.

However, although the Ministry of Education promoted curriculum revision by opening "public participation communication channels" to collect opinions based on public participation, ideological debates erupted after the draft was released, and public hearings were not smoothly conducted due to fierce opposition from conservative groups, which remains a limitation.

Deputy Minister Jang said, "This was the first attempt, and unlike before, there may be evaluations that conflicts have intensified, but since the administrative notice draft was fully disclosed on the website from start to finish, it is too early to evaluate."

The Ministry of Education plans to submit the revision proposal to the National Education Commission for review and resolution early next month and finalize and announce it within the year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.