Korean history will become a fixture in high schools next year.

At the National Museum of Korea on Friday, the Education Ministry, the National Institute of Korean History and a committee on developing a history curriculum announced a set of measures intended to strengthen history education.

Korean history is currently an elective course at high schools. The new plan will make the subject a requirement for all students.

Teachers will be trained in certain materials and interactive programs designed to make history classes more hands on and debate oriented.

Beginning in 2013, applicants for teaching positions could be required to display a certain level of proficiency in Korean History.

At the conference, Education Minister Lee Joo-ho has stressed the importance of a proper history education curriculum.

The minister said that the government needed to improve and strengthen the schools’ education of Korean history in order to help South Korean students feel proud of their country’s past.

Mentioning Japan’s recent claims on the Dokdo islets, Lee stated that the importance of the people having correct understanding of history is growing more than ever.

He added that the latest measures to enhance the schools’ history education curriculum will help South Korean students learn it more easily and feel a sense of duty to defend their nation’s sovereignty.