I looked into two useful web resources to learn more about Korean culture as represented through the mediums of film and literature:
Until I looked at the first site, I didn't realize that Japanese films had been banned in Korea. In an essay by Darcy Paquet, entitled "Japanese films in Korea" on the http://www.koreanfilm.org website, I learned that pop culture from Japan could not be imported as a rebuke of the brutal oppression during colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. Japanese films were gradually re-introduced to Koreans as recently as 1998.
The site also features a comprehensive review of Korean films, categorized annually, to assist educators seeking to use film as a means of instructional units about Korean culture and history, particularly the war and its impact on society. Popular culture is also represented by the proliferation of Korean dramas and television serials I have seen popping up on my Netflix and Hulu pages. This website also reviews Korean dramas which started burgeoning in the late 1990s.
The second website provided me with valuable resources connected directly to the topic upon which I developed my curricular unit: the impact of Japanese colonialism in Korea. After poking around a bit, I found this lesson plan designed for high school students: “BECOMING JAPANESE:” IDENTITY UNDER JAPANESE OCCUPATION. There were also several others, better suited for world history classes than literature courses, but these lesson plans provided links to YouTube videos and other materials certain to enhance my lessons.
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