This study examines the characteristics of ideals and theories of education established during early Korean government focusing on ‘Democratic national education theory’(民主的 民族敎育論) by Ho-Sang Ahn, who served as the first minister of education of Korea. And this study also examines the process of forming national identity in Republic of Korea, the nation-state.
After liberation, Ho-Sang Ahn continued educational activities and served as minister of education at the Seung-Man Lee’s government, taking the role of ideologue of one nation principle. As intellectual of Japanese colonial era, Ho-Sang Ahn entered religion called Daejonggyo(大倧敎), establishing the concept of ethnic nationalism based on blood. Also, in association with many Daejonggyo figures and experience from the council of the representatives got the idea of thoroughly opposing communism and thus attempted nation’s unity of idea.
From studying in Germany and Japan, Ho-Sang Ahn met with extreme nationalists and supremacists and adding this to his existing blood-tied nationalism became national supremacist. The nationalism, Ho-Sang Ahn learned at this time, put the country as the absolute high value, putting individual people below the country.
Under such experience of Japanese colonial era, Ho-Sang Ahn established national view and country view and such tendency is also visible in his education theory. Ho-Sang Ahn tried unite the ideas of students through education, especially emphasizing ‘man of loyalty’ trying to make people like ‘hwarang’(花郞) who can sacrifice for the country. After Yeosu-Suncheon incident, became even more anticommunist and made the Student National Defense Corps. Not only that, he purged the left affiliated teachers, dispersed all organizations in the school to achieve unity of idea and tried to control all students’ behavior and thoughts under the command of government as superior authority.
Not only students and teachers, Ho-Sang Ahn tried to achieve this unity of idea among general public, opening ‘Ilminism’(一民主義) propagation through lectures all around the country and re-education of adults to lead them to the ideology.
Such activities are to be examined with the Seung-Man Lee government’s early national unity. The national unity through unity of idea at this time was achieved through his ‘Democratic national education theory’ and ‘Ilminism education theory.’(一民主義敎育論) However, Ho-Sang Ahn’s ‘Democratic national education theory’ absolutized the leader’s idea and the leader of this time was Seung-Man Lee. In such circumstances under Ho-Sang Ahn’s education theory of strong anticommunism, individual characteristics and freedom of idea was worthless before country and nation.
Ho-Sang Ahn want to make the Korean people the anticommunist warriors. He understood the democracy as homogenization and identification and insisted the kind of democracy like that will make the people free. On the contrary to his insistence, the people of Korea were demanded to subordinate to great cause of Nation.