A study on the Analysis of German Political and Civic Education and Korean Unification Education

When the Berlin Wall fell, the majority of West Germans were in favor of unification and willingly shared the economic pain of unification. Germany's social and political education helped people understand the need for unification and reduce confusion. Even after unification, Germany emphasized the value of democratic citizenship through education. According to the 2023 School Unification Education Survey released by the Ministry of Unification on March 16, 2024, the majority of respondents said they did not want to unify with North Korea. The reasons for this were found to be concerns about North Korea's military threats and the economic burden after unification. Korea needs to examine Germany's politics and civic education and change them to suit the Korean situation. Germany is a country that was clearly in a different situation from Korea. Germany did not have a nuclear problem during the division process and did not experience a tragedy like the Korean War.In particular, East Germany and West Germany had the opportunity to freely interact with each other and to meet each other, but South Korea and North Korea did not. Based on Germany's political and civic education, Korean unification should change as follows. First, the value of freedom should be emphasized. Second, a strong sense of security should be established. Third, democracy should be properly fostered. Fourth, liberal arts education should be expanded. Based on these points, Korean unification education needs to change and develop.