Socially engaged art practice and character education: Understanding others through visual art

Abstract This article examines to what extent socially engaged art practice encourages students by promoting creativity, a sense of citizen responsibility, critical thinking, reflection, an interest in social justice, and consideration of people living in the local community, and ultimately contributing significantly to character education. In community-based art education, which enables the building of character, learners overcome the limitations of knowledge-oriented education to understand others, thus adding more meaning to their lives and helping them cultivate democratic citizenship so that they may serve society. This article discusses a key feature of socially engaged art practice through a case study by focusing on the service learning of an alternative school for North Korean adolescent refugees. The theoretical roots of socially engaged art practice and service learning for developing democratic citizenship are examined. The case of art education at alternative schools for North Korean adolescent refugees is discussed through the lens of community-based art education. North Korean adolescent refugees and South Korean graduate school students taught and were taught through reciprocal participation in service learning.