The Journal of The Korean Association of Geographic and Environmental Education ISSN:1226-511X(Print) 2586-5641(Online) 한국지리환경교육학회지

This study examines, through textbook analysis, how digital media landscapes and inquiry activity prompts presented in the geography sections of approved elementary social studies textbooks structure learners’ landscape experiences within the context of elementary geography education through Walter Benjamin’s concept of aura. To this end, aura was reconstructed into four analytical dimensions: distance, temporality, uniqueness, and contextuality. A qualitative document analysis was conducted on 116 landscape-prompt units identified in three approved elementary social studies textbooks developed under the 2022 Revised National Curriculum. The findings revealed that most landscape-prompt units tended to diminish aura by presenting landscapes as immediately accessible and consumable visual information. In contrast, some cases partially preserved aura by encouraging learners to explore the historical formation, uniqueness, and relational networks of landscapes. These findings suggest that the diminishment or preservation of aura is determined not by digital media themselves but by the ways landscapes are represented and inquiry prompts are designed. Based on the findings, this study proposes three design principles for fostering auratic experiences: providing interpretive openness, restoring temporal layers, and recovering the uniqueness and relational networks of landscapes. By extending Benjamin’s concept of aura to the context of geography education, this study offers a new analytical framework for examining digital media landscapes and provides implications for enhancing the qualitative dimensions of landscape learning in the digital age.