This study surveys and analyzes the ratio relationship between pure-Korean words and Sino-Korean words in the vocabulary of all elementary school textbooks used in 2009. For this purpose, the truth about the commonly accepted idea that the ratio of Sino-Korean words in the Korean language was 70 percent was examined. The ratio of Sino-Korean words in a standard Korean language dictionary was also compared to their ratio in elementary school textbooks and the significance of those ratios was considered. Various ratios including those between grades, classes, and parts of speech were analyzed in order to investigate the significance of pure-Korean words and Sino-Korean words in elementary school textbooks. The analysis showed that, in simple terms of frequency, even as the importance of Sino-Korean words in elementary school textbooks increased in higher grades, the accumulative frequency of pure-Korean words actually increased more. It could be seen through this that, in vocabulary education based on graded levels of difficulty, the instruction of Sino-Korean words needs to be further strengthened. In contrast, the ability to properly use pure-Korean words was a very significant part of the students' actual linguistic ability. This showed that, instead of the exclusive attitude of emphasizing either pure-Korean or Sino-Korean words, a more balanced vocabulary education was ultimately needed in which all words were written and communicated in the Korean alphabet and viewed as Korean.