Reconsidering the Academic Identity of Reunification Education: Focusing on Its Relationship with Peace Education, Multicultural Education, Democratic Citizenship Education, and Global Citizenship Education

Reunification education should not merely pursue political integration but should take an educational approach that equips future generations, who will lead a reunified Korea, to adapt to the changing dynamics of the Korean Peninsula and the international environment, while fulfilling their roles as global citizens. This study aims to redefine the academic characteristics of reunification education by examining its connections with peace education, multicultural education, democratic citizenship education, and global citizenship education. Reunification education plays a pivotal role in enabling peaceful coexistence between residents of North and South Korea post- reunification, while fostering democracy, diversity, and global citizenship. Moreover, the study proposes moral philosophy as the theoretical foundation of reunification education and moral psychology as its educational methodology. In doing so, it seeks to explore strategies for transitioning reunification education from coercive or unilateral instruction to a more dialogical form of education. Ultimately, the study argues that reunification education can contribute to nurturing responsible global citizens within the international community by promoting peaceful conflict resolution, respect for cultural diversity, critical democratic citizenship, and the cultivation of global consciousness.