The Journal of Culture Contents ISSN:2287-2256(Print) 2671-7026(Online) 문화콘텐츠연구

Children and youth generally means the persons between the ages of eight to seventeen years. In this period, they start their journey to seek a sense of identity and shape self-concept. They also recognize themselves as a social being and try to learn how to interact with the world around them. During these years, they begin to consider life from a philosophical point of view while they are adrift due to the little things and worrying seriously about their future as well. Reading philosophy books provides valuable learning opportunities for children and youth. It is, therefore, no exaggeration to say that adults should aim to offer them broader opportunities to read philosophy books while they make efforts to know themselves and design their own future. There are various genres of publication for children and youth. The publications are categorized as humanities, history, social sciences, literature, economy, philosophy, and cultures in terms of supply side. Readers, however, tend to prefer a particular sort of books by their interest and aptitude. These days, children and teenagers are spiritually ruined despite the material affluence. That is the reason why the people in the publishing industry have to be concerned to publish various philosophy books for cultivating the human mind for children and youth. To make matters worse, the Korean education system that focuses only on university entrance exams deprives these young people of their opportunities to strengthen ethics which is a core sense for living together. The so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution is just around the corner. It is important for children and youth to improve the ability to handle the rapidly changing situation wisely in the world of digital information in this globalization era. The liberal education is fundamental to foster soul and manners, and help young people to be a leader of their own life as well as this fast-paced world. This study deals with the three subjects being aware of the issues mentioned above: i) the content development and direction of the philosophy books for children and youth; ii) the actual publication condition of philosophy books for children and youth between the years of 2010 to 2015; and iii) the philosophy books for children and youth as future values - The method of this paper is based on the documentary research and case study. This thesis is especially focused on the recommend book list from the School Library Journal due to the lack of preceding research data on the philosophy books. The list is qualified for the analysis of current situation and the basic information on philosophy books for children and youth.