In 2019, Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education (IMCOE), South Korea launched a new curriculum called, "East Asian citizenship education" (EACE) by criticising the over-broadness and abstractness of global citizenship education (GCE). Yet, a question arises, how is it different from (Western) GCE? In this study, pedagogical perspectives of EACE and GCE are addressed based on a critical review of conceptual tensions between universality and particularity, which responds to "cultural incommensurability" from critical-post critical perspectives of GCE, while intercultural reality is acknowledged. It is argued that cultural incommensurability is used to tackle epistemology-driven engagement (Western GCE) and facilitate diverse ontological engagement in GCE which includes (non-Western) cultural values. With this metaphysical justification, a framework for EACE is developed and justified by reflecting East Asian cultural characteristics. As a result, the four domains are articulated: "critical participation," "communal engagement," "relational development," and "ethical accountability." Through a training programme for 20 primary school teachers, their engagement in, concerns of and achievements for EACE are discussed, which demonstrates potential for its pedagogical legitimacy. A significant argument from the study is that "culturally responsive" GCE can be feasible when justifying the ontological foundations of GCE with non-Western cultural features.