In this paper I tried to understand the social theory of Emile Durkheim, who worked in France
one hundred years ago as a sociologist. And I tried to explain the affairs of education in Korean
society today from his social theory, and propose means of improving the current system.
Durkheim explained that the anomic state of French society in late 19 century came from the
mismatch between the organic aspect and the mind aspect, which are the two components of a
society. Especially, he diagnosed that in the state of changing from mechanic solidarity to organic
solidarity for the organic aspect of the French society, the underdevelopment of the mind aspect,
namely morals, produced higher suicide ratio. To solve this problem, he suggested moral education
and strengthening of job groups.
In his social theory, Durkheim regarded suicide, labour division, and religion as social facts, but
not education, which he considered as a tool for overcoming social problems. Utilizing his theory, it
is possible to explain education in Korea as a social fact, and examine its workings in the society.
In this paper I classified the learning types of current Korea society from the viewpoint of
Durkheim, and introduced some suggestions to improve the Korean education system.