韓國의 漢文文化와 漢文敎育

Present condition of Chinese writing culture and Chinese writing education of Korea

Korean culture has been created in two aspects, which are native living culture and mutually interactive culture with foreign countries. Chinese writing culture was the most effective one among those interactive cultures. It effected Korean native way of life as well as that of other peripheral countries in East Asia. Chinese writing culture is discovered in every mental and material fields in Korean culture. Buddhism of Goryeo dynasty and Confucianism in Joseon dynasty are the very evidence. Confucianism has its ideological foundation definitely on Chinese writing culture. Chinese writing culture in Korea is born in linguistic side; Korean archives are written in Classical Chinese. Intellectual people had produced substantial documents within which contents were linked organically all over the social culture. For instance, literature on natural landscape was connected to landscape paintings and architectural aesthetics. Chinese writing culture does not nor cannot stand alone in linguistic side, but does affect pre-modern social culture and our daily lives. Especially, as materialism gets more excessive, people need culture education of anti-materialism for ideal and cultural factor in their lives. But tradition of Chinese writing culture cannot resist modern materialism if it stays only in our potential culture. We need to educate our descendants to get over materialism with the tradition of Chinese writing culture. Classical Chinese education plays a critical role in that aspect. 7th curriculum emphasized Sino-Korean words in daily lives as a feature of Classical Chinese. Sino-Korean words are indeed Korean word derived rom Chinese writing culture, but it occurs to me that it s not quite adequate for a prime feature on Classical Chinese. On the contrary, the new curriculum states that Classical Chinese is a subject to achieve critical understanding and aesthetic enjoy of various types of Classical Chinese materials through studying. It suggests that building an aesthetic enjoy has a significant meaning. This is a vigorous gesture. Still, taking it into action is yet uncertain. It is our duty not to leave the curriculum as a vague declaration.