The Parade of Presidents

[Andrew Frank]

One of the features of Professor Jung-Kim's lecture that I found most fascinating was the explanation of the procession of Presidents at the beginning of South Korea's "road to democratization." I think it would be fascinating to have students compare a list of the South Korean Presidents to a list of America's own Presidents and have students compare/contrast the styles of presidencies. Also, having students evaluate Syngman Rhee would be fascinating, by asking students to perform their own research on his mysterious misdeeds (the 1956 execution of his opponent, the ballot-stuffing in his VP election, etc.) Also it might be interesting to have students analyze how the student revolutions in April 1960 & 1980 had an impact on the SK government and have high school students identify what student protests in the United States have had a similar profound effect. Even having students analyze the value of SK's yearly candelight vigil (that started back in the term of Myung-bak) would be a learning activity that required critical thinking. Asking questions to stimulate student thinking might be: "Are there any annual vigils that occur in the U.S.? What might America be able to learn from the culture of South Korean civil resistance?" I think the more students compare/contrast their own culture to another's, the more students may begin thinking of themselves as global citizens...