Muwidang Jang Il-soon's Life and Educational Thought: Implications for Lifelong Education

Research exploring the value of lifelong education by connecting the life of a leader who made the living ground into a place of education and led change is significant. This study aims to realize the implications of lifelong education by examining the life and educational ideology of Muwidang Jang Il-soon, who is considered to have lived as an ordinary person all his life with a consistent attitude in Korean modern history. More specifically, the meaning of teaching and the principle of lifelong education in his life are examined, and the implications of Jang Il-soon's educational thought for today's lifelong learning society are discussed. Regarding the research method, qualitative research was conducted for interpretative research, such as exploring historical data and performing a literature analysis on Jang Il-soon. In the results of the study, Jang Il-soon's teachings are presented as 'Gaemunryuha', 'Illinillgi', 'Gyohaksangjang', and 'Gyojachaesin'. The principles of lifelong education that appeared in Jang Il-soon's educational thought are categorized into 'the principle of equality', 'the principle of practice', 'the principle of coexistence', and 'the principle of liberation'. The implications of Jang Il-soon's educational thought for a lifelong learning society are identified as 'the provision of equal lifelong education opportunities', 'practice-oriented educational activities and social transformation', 'the implementation of meaning and value of learning community', 'instructors' critical reflection and action', etc. As an educator and a learner simultaneously, Jang Il-soon's educational ideology has implications for the reality of lifelong education centered on the delivery of knowledge by instructors and for the education movement and practitioners' educational activities at the private level, suggesting means for the realization of a lifelong learning society.