Comparison of Concepts and Discussion of Reciprocal Methodologies of Democratic Citizenship Education and Human Rights Education

The Korean Framework Act on Education cherishes the quality necessary as a democratic citizen. Meanwhile, as the National Human Rights Commission Act was enacted in 2001, and many local governments, including Gwangju Metropolitan City, enacted ordinances to guarantee and promote human rights in the mid to late 2000s, human rights education was emphasized but not studied theoretically and practically. This paper presents a methodology that can be used to realize the common public interest goals of both by comparing the concept and actual status of democratic citizenship education and human rights education. To this end, first of all, the concept of democratic citizenship education and related discourses are considered in light of the preceding studies of Democratic Peace Research and related laws and ordinances. Subsequently, it analyzes the status of the people's human rights consciousness, systems related to human rights education, human rights education seen in democratic citizenship education programs, and ordinances related to human rights education in Gwangju Metropolitan City. As a result, it emphasizes the fact that human rights education has the purpose of confirming the basic rights of mankind and the people and holding both the state and civilians responsible for guaranteeing it, while democratic citizenship education can provide a practical methodology to maximize its effectiveness. This study is of significance in that it proposed an alternative that could harmonize the two in a state where democratic citizenship education and human rights education were indiscriminately mixed.