thoughts about session 12 on 8/1 w/Dr. Jungkim

I'm so impressed by the depth of knowledge of Dr. Jungkin. Korea is not part of our curriculum but I'm definitely going to try to present something to my class.

I am disappointed by our nation's lack of assistance in South Korea. That our government is unwiling to help those who are moving towards democracy... and aid dictators... GEZZ.. I know this is not new; it's not uncommon, but still ... We want our children and society to have national pride but it is hard when our officials make these kind of decisions. So, the North and the South can't reunite because they can not agree on who started the war 60 years ago? I don't understand why the two cannot reunite.. other than that the leaders do not want to give up power. Thank you for all of the information and the integration of film to demonstrate the issues/events.

So some of the reasons for not reunifying seem to be the power... but also the philosophical diffeerences. Everone seems to like the thought but not the reality.
edited by mgeorge on 8/1/2012

I found the bit on the Kim Jong-Il's son getting out of favor because he wanted to go to Disneyland was very interesting. I wonder if it was just because he was caught because of this other speculated article found here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/8972975/Kim-Jong-un-secretly-visited-Tokyo-Disneyland-as-a-child.html. I imagine that press would not be looked upon favorably.

This is an article about both Bill and Hilary's involvement with the release of the two journalists in class: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/world/asia/05korea.html?pagewanted=all.

I am so happy that Dr. Jungkim talked about diversity and "what is Korean?" I have a diversity club that works with the ADL and this would be a great topic for one of our monthly themes. Thanks

I don't teach Korea but I do teach Ancient China. I will find a way to incorporate this rich culture into my lesson plans.

I really enjoyed the information on Korea. Since I teach 7th grade World History, I think I can use some of the information on Korean inventions when discussion China just as a comparison. I also think it can be included when talking about Chinese and Japanese expansion.

I think it was very interesting to hear about the history of the Korean War as that is an area of history where my knowledge is shallow. I don't teach about this time period in 7th or 8th grade, but it is something that is helpful for me to know for my own personal knowledge. I always want to expand my understanding of the past because it helps me understand the present tensions and actions around the world.

Often I will ask my students the question, "Why is it important to know history?" I think one significant answer is that it helps us not make the mistakes of the past. We often discuss Napoleon's invasion of Russia with Hitler's invasion, and how a better understanding of history, the outcome may have been different. I think the more examples of mistakes of the past that I can introduce (such as the 38th parallel division for Korea) the more students, who will eventually be decision makers either as leaders or voters, can make more informed decisions about domestic and foreign policy.