As a branch of the Ministry of Education, the NIKH certifies and supervises drafts of history textbooks used in middle and high schools. It conducts educational programs for government officials (Rank 6 and higher) to foster their awareness of Korean history and develop the intellectual ability to cope with the distortion of Korean history manufactured by historians and public figures of neighboring nations. It also sponsors short and long-term educational programs for the teachers of elementary, middle, and high schools with the purpose of helping them develop creative pedagogy based on up-to-date information on Korean academic research. In addition, it operates a school to train competent translators of historical documents written in classical Chinese and pre-modern Japanese in the cursive “grass style.”

The NIKH holds and supervises the Korean History Proficiency Test four times a year, and sponsors the annual Korean History Competition among middle and high school students, both for the purpose of stimulating interest in and promoting correct understanding of Korean history and culture among the younger generation.

The NIKH is engaged in various projects that help promote research on Korean history. Generally speaking, it aims to collect and compile all relevant historical materials scattered in and out of the country. It actively searches for and collects historical materials in various localities in Korea before they are lost to promote studies on regional history. It endeavors to obtain critical information concerning contemporary history through oral interviews with historically important persons. Moreover, it explores and collects Korea-related historical materials preserved in the national archives of the United States, Japan, China, and Russia. Lastly, it supports the research and academic activities related to the interaction between South and North Korea-with the hope of promoting the national goal of the unification of Korea.

The NIKH organizes and/or supports academic conferences conducive to upgrading the level of research and discussion among scholars of Korean history. It hosts international academic conferences that deal with Korean history from international perspectives. It also sponsors academic exchanges between historians of South and North Korea.