The purpose of this study is to examine how elementary school science textbooks are designed to facilitate students’ inquiry abilities in South and North Korea. For this, we investigated the weight of sub-area science in the entire units, the tendency of inquiry using Romey’s analysis method, differences in the composition of units to improve inquiry capabilities, and differences in how concepts and inquiry are applied to solve real-life problems. As a result of the analysis, North Korean science textbooks showed different weights in each area of physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science. The inquiry tendency of South Korean and North Korean textbooks was similar, but North Korean textbooks were described more exploratively in visual materials than South Korea. South Korean textbooks suggested more diverse inquiry activities than North Korean textbooks. North Korean textbooks are more exploratory in the title of the unit, while South Korean textbooks are concept-oriented and abstract. North Korean science textbooks provided opportunities to use concepts and inquiry skills learned to solve real-life problems. As a result of this study, it can be seen that elementary school science textbooks in South Korea and North Korea show differences in their tendency of inquiry. The findings are expected to contribute to the development and improvement of the next curriculum and textbooks.