PART 1 Prehistory and the Rise of Civilization
01 History and Humanity
02 The emergence of civilization and the formation of nations

PART 2 Western History
01 The Development of the Greek and Roman Empires
02 The Formation and Development of Europe
03 Renaissance and the Pioneering of New Routes
04 The establishment and development of absolute monarchy
05 Citizen Revolution
06 The spread of liberalism and nationalism
07 Developments in the United States, Russia, and Latin America
08 The Industrial Revolution and the Development of Capitalism
09 Imperialist Invasion
10 World War I and the Russian Revolution
11 The World After World War I
12 World War II (1939–1945)
13 Formation and easing of the Cold War system

PART 3 CHINESE HISTORY
01 China's First Unified Empires - Qin and Han
02 Formation and Development of the East Asian World
03 Song's Development
04 The growth of the northern nomadic peoples and the development of the Mongol Empire
05 Development of the Ming and Qing Empires
06 China's opening of ports and the movement to establish a modern state

PART 4 ​​Japanese History
01 The establishment and development of Japan
02 Japan's samurai regime
03 Japan's modernization and invasion of East Asia

PART 5 Southeast Asian History
01 Formation and Development of Southeast Asian Countries
02 Establishment of modern states in Southeast Asia

PART 6 Indian History
01 Unified Empire of India
02 The Gupta Dynasty and the Development of Hindu Culture
03 Invasion of Islamic forces
04 Indian National Movement

PART 7 West Asian and African History
01 Development of the Persian Empire
02 The Formation and Development of the Islamic World
03 Expansion of the Islamic World
04 National movements in West Asia and Africa

Appendix
ㆍMajor dynasty genealogy
World History Proficiency Test Question Paper (1st to 6th)
World History Proficiency Test Answers and Explanations (1st to 6th)

Amidst the recent national rise in interest in historical awareness, several meaningful changes are taking place in history education.
One notable achievement is that the government designated Korean history as a required subject for the 2017 College Scholastic Ability Test.
However, on the other hand, it is regrettable that history education is perceived as being equivalent to Korean history education.


World history is largely neglected in secondary education due to its vast scope and lack of teaching staff.
However, world history is required as essential background knowledge for students who advance to university and take general courses including humanities and social sciences.
Furthermore, beyond the curriculum of middle and high schools and universities, understanding the various cultures of the world we live in is an essential knowledge that we must possess as global citizens (kosmopolitans).


The need for world history education that encompasses Korean and East Asian history is even more crucial in our country, which must lead the globalization era.
For this reason, JoongAng Ilbo decided to implement the World History Proficiency Test to increase interest in world history and strengthen capabilities.

Learning world history is not simply about learning stuffed facts from the past.
For example, if the Crusades were viewed solely as the recapture of Jerusalem from the Seljuk Turks, the movement failed.
But if we look at the expansionist movement in Europe, the Crusades were a success.
Although Jerusalem was not recaptured, the Crusades stimulated Mediterranean trade, laying the foundation for Western Europe's transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era.
In the 1980s, when the semiconductor industry was suffering from accumulated deficits, Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul invested more in the semiconductor industry, planning for a long-term future, and achieved the Samsung semiconductor business that it is today.
Could it be that this was because Chairman Lee Byung-chul, who emphasized the study of world history during his lifetime, was able to develop a long-term perspective through world history?

I sincerely hope that this textbook will be of some help to all those working on the global stage, in developing a balanced view of history and developing into global talents.


Lee Man-jeok