Saturday's Seminar

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

I enjoyed learning about the Japanese ie traditions. Leaning something so foreign to our American traditions is facinating. I also enjoyed learning about the nuances of women in Korea. The photo of the middle aged women yelling at the riot police really stuck in my head.[Edit by="sbogart on Feb 10, 6:25:54 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Saturday's seminar was really interesting and valuable to enriching my curriculum.
Learning about contemporary gender issues in Korea by Professor Jung-Kim was great. I have never taken the time to reflect on issues like this and wonder if similar generalizations can be made about other cultures, western & nonwestern. I loved the easy and informative "Ten Things to Know about Korea". Her notes were great. Confucianism and women's status will be helpful in my curriculum. She must be awesome to have as a professor!
Women and Families in Post-war Japan by UCLA professor Mariko Tamanoi was also helpful. The Ie structure is really amazing and I look forward to passing this onto my students. I will share it within the context of the Yamato royal family really not being the longest ruling dynasty. The Shinto religion seems really neat too. I plan to learn more about this religion to share with my students since this is a state standard.

[Anonymous]

My oh my, has the role of women in South Korea changed! From reading the articles Professor Jung-Kim provided and from her excellent presentation (wish I was one of her lucky students!) I have such a different perspective on women's status in Korea. It was really well-presented information, and I enjoy it when our speakers infuse personal stories into their presentations. Makes it so much more interesting and real.

As a teacher, I related to the fact that many Korean families will have the mom and children come to the US if the kids aren't as successful in the Korean educational system. Many of my kids tell me that their dads are still living in Korea and they are here with mom or aunt.

The importing of brides to Korea was rather alarming, especially when it is under false pretenses and/or abusive.

Hearing more about the Asian Financial Crisis was interesting, especially the International Monetary Fund repayment effort. I highly doubt Americans would be so willing to work hard for low pay or donate money or jewelry because they felt it was a nationalistic duty!

Also, I am looking forward to checking out some Korean dramas. Even my students have recommended a few!

[Anonymous]

After reading Marie's post, I completely agree. In early February, I posted a response to an article about a woman who came out of South Korea with little to no experience in anything but the traditional roles of the Korean woman. Following the lecture on Saturday, Hee-soo-Lee's accomplishments seem to grow in magnitude as now they are retrospectively set against a backdrop of the gender roles of the South Korean women. This entrepreneur is nothing less than revolutionary compared to the roles she would have been forced to play out in her native land. The entire response is posted under "China in the News" ; however, here is the first bit. A special thank you to Professor Kim for shedding a bright light on shuch a cold view of the limits placed upon women in South Korea. If you have time, check out the article that chronicles this woman's success, it is moving.
-Susan

What does it take to make it in America? Is there a secret key to affording success inside this age old melting pot? A Los Angeles Times article, featured in the business section on January 24, 2008, discusses a small business that shows the eye of the tiger on the face of Korean immigrant Hee-sook Lee, CEO of BCD Tofu House, which now operates over a dozen restaurants in Southern California, Seattle, Tokyo and South Korea with a revenue of $19 million. With more than 300 employees, Lee, a native of Seoul, has been dubbed the "Bead-Curd Queen" due to a common native Korean dish that has turned into the axis of a worldwide hub of restaurants operating around the clock. Fierce obstacles did not elude this Renaissance woman from creating her own dynasty, rising to notority as a top entrepreneur across the globe, during the new millenium.

[Anonymous]

The topic of women's roles was so interesting to me, as women's studies has always been an area of interest to me. I didn't realize the role Confucianism played in the gender roles in East Asia (or maybe the extend to which Confucianism is used to explain these roles is a better way to say it). I've studied women's roles and Christianity and there are many similarities in the hierarchy that is placed on God to men to women to children. It's interesting that the two religions have these gender role similarities.

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