When you look at the world with sociological curiosity, every scene in your daily life becomes a subject of exploration!
Professor Koo Jeong-hwa's social problem exploration classroom that fosters questioning and problem-solving skills.

『Exploring Social Issues』 is a course in which students discover problems in their own communities, find solutions, and write a research report on the process.
It was established in 2015 to foster the ability to actively ask questions and solve problems rather than passively answering given questions.
In the 2022 revision, it was changed from a career-choice subject to a convergence-choice subject. Since it is reflected in the 'curriculum tax special' of the high school student record and is an absolutely evaluated subject, many students choose it for their grades.
However, it is one of the subjects that both students and teachers feel at a loss due to the lack of proper textbooks or supplementary materials.

Accordingly, Professor Koo Jeong-hwa, a leading author of social studies textbooks and a teacher at Gyeongin National University of Education, published “Social Issues Exploration Essays for Youth.”

Young people who ask questions grow into citizens who seek answers!
A friendly guide that will lead you from passive study to active exploration.

The question, 'Why did that happen?'
Asking questions without taking anything for granted.
This is the beginning of exploration.
However, unlike the beginning, the exploration process is very complex.
Additionally, completing papers or reports to communicate the results of research is a difficult task.
The process of exploring social phenomena is a fascinating journey of finding answers to your own questions.
I've put together a little guide to help anyone getting started.
In fact, exploring and recording is a process that requires observing the process closely, making mistakes based on what you learn, and applying it yourself.
So, if I were to guide you through that journey in a book, I would have to go into great detail.
When I first started, I thought I'd make a really detailed guide.
However, when I look at what I wrote, I see that there are still many abstract and theoretical explanations.
Still, I hope this helps a little.
--- From "Entering"

Fully reflects the 2022 revised curriculum!
Exploring Social Issues with Friendly Explanations and Interesting Case Studies

Did you know there's a prize that's a twist on the Nobel Prize? It's called the Ig Nobel Prize.
The Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded annually around the time of the Nobel Prize ceremony, and are given to those who have conducted some of the most outrageous research that year.
(…) Although it is not a Nobel Prize or Ig Nobel Prize, many people research various things they are curious about in life and present the results in research journals.
There is an incredible amount of research being conducted.
Why do humans constantly study?
--- From the text
(…) Exploration is not something that is unique to the laboratory.
Research is when humans investigate, analyze, and organize various phenomena occurring around them from various perspectives.
After all, isn't it thanks to our observation and exploration of what's happening around us that we've been able to compete with other animals and reach where we are today?
--- From "Chapter 1: The First Step to Exploration, Things to Know"

For example, when self-driving cars are introduced, the job of taxi driver will disappear.
If restaurants take orders through kiosks and deliver food using service robots, the jobs of the people who used to do that work will also disappear.
(…) So far, the development of science and technology has had the tendency to reduce existing jobs, but it has also had a greater tendency to create new jobs.
However, it is said that cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, which are at the core of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, will replace a significant portion of jobs and will not create new ones.
The gap between rich and poor will widen and the number of people losing their jobs will increase.
Fortunately or unfortunately, there is still debate about this prediction.

--- From "Chapter 2: Exploring Social Issues, What Topic Should We Choose?"

Last year, a passage was discovered in the basement of a building in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.
It was only wide enough for one person to pass through, so why was this passage created? Its purpose was simple: to connect the building to an oil pipeline about six meters away, allowing the theft of oil.
The connecting passage was discovered when a team of oil thieves were arrested while renting a building and digging a passage using shovels and pickaxes.
The oil contained in the pipeline was clearly someone else's property, and it was a dangerous situation where the ground could collapse or a fire could break out if things went wrong.
Fortunately, the crime scene was found quickly and no major accident occurred.
We often see crimes like this in the news, where people steal other people's property.
The results of research written in a paper or report are also someone's property.
The story is that the prior research we are referencing is someone else's property.
Just like this incident where someone tried to steal someone else's oil without paying for it, using someone else's knowledge without paying for it can also be a crime.
--- From "Before heading into Chapter 3, let's look at prior research first"

The slums in Mexico are called 'Vecindads', and there is a book written by an American anthropologist couple who interviewed families living there for four years in the late 1950s in the Vecindads of Mexico City and recorded their lives.
It's called "The Sanchez Kids", named after the family.
(…) After reading the book, you will realize that poverty, which was thought to be a problem unique to their family, is actually due to the ‘sociocultural structure that creates poor families.’
A book that records interviews with one family can also play an important role in understanding the social structure and society related to poverty.
The reason this book was able to accurately portray the lives of the poor is because it interviewed the people involved directly.
So what does it mean to collect data through interviews?

--- From “Chapter 4: Data Collection Methods for Research Topics”