5/9 - Jung-Kim - Korea's Historical Development

I admit I knew very little about Korea. When reading the material it was fascinating to realize how the Korean War began and why the US was able to get involved. I also did not know how important Korea is to the rest of the world. Americans are so focused on their impact in the world that we do not acknowledge countries or civilizations that may impact the rest of the world. As the world becomes smaller and smaller it is critical for us as teachers to get our students to widen their thoughts about the world. I am grateful that now I have some information that I can share with my Korean students.

This session was really helpful for me. Other than some things that I took from Clay's original lecture on general East Asia features and some information from Korean friends, I don't know that much about either country. And, like many Americans, much of my knowledge of Korean history is limited to the 20th century. So it was great to get exposure to the "significance of Korea" during the first part of this session. Even seeing things like the restrooms and apartment buildings was really interesting, and I think that my students would find that interesting as well.

The most interesting political element was that South Korea was essentially a dictatorship for 40 years. I think it is very important to remind our students that the Cold War was as practical as it was ideological, and that the United States was willing to support regimes that opposed communism even if those regimes were not terribly democratic.

I have had the privilege of being exposed to Korean culture, starting primarily through the school I have worked at for the past fourteen yeqrs. I have been amazed, especially in my early days at JB, at the intensity of the Korean students to work hard and achieve. The experiences go on from there. What I learned from Jennifer Jun-Kim was more of the history of Korea although I have made a point of reading a bit about that also. This is a fascinating topic that I never tire of.

I am including a book review of a book called Korea Today. After reading books on the past, especially since Japanese Colonialism through to the the 1970s, this book is encouraging to see the progress that determination and hard work can produce.

I really appreciated the attempt to bring us up to speed with what is going on in Korea today. But this is just my preference for recent events when it comes to studying. Also, the explanation of Buddhism (inward/individual) and Confucianism (outward/social) and how Confucianism (past) and Christianity (future) differ helped solidify, in simple terms, what these are all about. Hopefully, these would be simple for my students too.

Here's a question I'm too lazy to Google: Does Korea have an Independence Day? Is it different for North and South?

Does Korea matter? It seems an open-ended question. In terms of World History standards for 7th graders, Korea gets light coverage and would have none if not for China. Here in LA, students definitely benefit from exposure to Korean history/culture. What I found more interesting is how nationalistic Koreans are and their current feelings of (......?.......pride? inadequacy? neglect?). Is Ireland a good comparative example?

I was very interested in the part of this lecture about language. I found it fascinating that Classical Chinese was used in Korea for such a long time, and that the bureaucrats of the time created such a intuitive written Korean language. It is also interesting that Korea was considering teaching English in all schools. These facts, plus Korea’s polite and modern culture, might make it a great place for an American teacher to do a job exchange. I wonder if anyone knows how one would go about investigating that? [Edit by="jrauh on May 12, 8:42:23 AM"][/Edit]

Although I am not the best student and am often distracted, I must admit that the presentation did not capture my imagination. I know what an unprepared teacher looks like from direct experience and I wasn't sure if I was getting something deeper than a surface overview of what I know to be a fascinating history. If I am not mistaken, part of this program is to assist us in getting our students more interested in the subject matter and if the lectures were not engaging then that goal of the program is not being reached. Quite often we expect teachers to be innovative in their teaching methods yet the vast majority of College professors have never taken an education course in their life. What that translates to is an overabundance of knowledge in a subject matter, but a lack of concrete skills in convey what they wish to teach. That said - the professor wasn't too bad I have sat through many a class that was far worse.

The review of Korean history helped a great deal to cement their story into my world view. Such an enormous amount of turmoil to be lived through. Nevertheless they survived and despite the continued separation have prospered. I was amazed at the size and depth of their economy, as well as the maintenance of their cultural identity no matter who is trying to dominate them.

The "Lost Names" reading will be an excellent prompt for discussion about what your name means to you, your family, and your identity. It will also bring out for discussion the necessity for saving face, and how that is evidenced in other cultures. It could also open the idea of subjugation up for discussion, and I can envision writing assignments comparing this subjugation with Jewish pogroms, or the African slave trade.

Another aspect of this culture that intrigues me is the idea that organized protest is a citizens duty. Here again showing the pictures of the many massive protests along with pictures of American protests can lead students to discussion about the necessity of this process to the well being of any organized society.