Pyun Jiyun This study identifies the “absence of research tradition” as the root cause of the insufficient understanding of literacy class and proposes investigating the “literacy teaching dilemma” as a vital approach to researching literacy class. Accordingly, this study examines the concept of literacy class and investigates their status in various subject’s classes. As a result of the analysis, diverse factors such as teacher factors, pedagogical factors, teacher-student relationships and institutional factors including social policies and culture intricately contribute to the occurrence of the literacy teaching dilemma. Additionally, the aspects of such dilemma vary by subject and school level. Building upon these research findings, recommendations are proposed for the direction and content of research on the literacy teaching dilemmas.