The Educational History of Fighting Spirit and its Re-conceptualization in South Korea

The purpose of this study is to newly define the concept of fighting spirit in a historical context in South Korea. There have been criticisms that the existing definition of the concept of fighting spirit is overly descriptive, making it difficult to understand its essential content. In particular it is not fitting the educational contents on fighting spirit, which have been constituted of 3 main areas; the view of Republic of Korea, hostility against North Korea (Security view), and the soldier spirit. As the concept is defined with a focus on the soldier spirit, two of the three core areas of fighting spirit education are missing from the concept. In this study, we examine how fighting spirit education and the concept have developed, and then attempt to define the concept of fighting spirit more clearly. A good concept definition should be built around its essential content and should have a high level of conceptual clarity. If we give up the part describing component factors of the existing concept and focus on its goals and characteristics, fighting spirit can be clearly defined as “the fighting will and capability to complete the mission in peacetime as well as wartime.” Although there is no qualitative difference from the existing concept, the definition would be more clear and close to its essence of fighting spirit, making it more acceptable.