Abstract—The purpose of this study is to diachronically
consider the meaning of “literacy” in language education policy
in South Korea. The concept of the modern enlightenment
period was “modern literacy” and “Korean language literacy.”
During the Japanese occupation, the meaning of literacy was
divided into two parts: “Japanese language literacy” and
“Korean language literacy.” From the modern enlightenment
period to the founding of Korea, the concept of literacy had
been managed as a tool of basic communication and a heritage
of the national spirit from old times. This concept, however, was
dismantled during when the national curriculum was
established: a) for the promotion of literacy, the national spirit
was at a low rate; and b) instead of basic and practical literacy,
a critical and high-level literacy tended to be emphasized. For
an accurate and productive functionality in explaining language
phenomena, the changing meaning of literacy must be
considered thoroughly.
Index Terms—Literacy, Korean language education policy,
national spirit, basic knowledge, practical knowledge.
Bomi Jeong is with the Department of Korean Language Education, Seoul
National University, Seoul, 151-748 South Korea (e-mail:
yukinong24@gmail.com).
Cite: Bomi Jeong, "Changing the Meaning of “Literacy” in Language Education Policy in South Korea," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 274-277, 2015.