Menu
close
Anonymous.
AnonymousThe discussion of "comfort women" is interesting. In the history of warfare, a truly masculine issues since women don't usually start or participate in war voluntarily, women were frequently the "spoils of war." Rape and enslavement were common. I wonder if, in a brutal way, that "comfort women" wasn't an attempt at improving things, keeping wives and mothers safe. I'm not trying to justify the action, just to understand it from the point of view of perpetrators, and in historical context. For example, the man we call Alexander the Great is viewed as Alexander the Terrible in Asia Minor and South Asia. His army raped and pillaged as they marched through their known world. American soldiers, as they marched through Mexico during the Mexican-American War were not too kind to the young girls of the states they marched through. I'm not sure if the Japanese soldiers were also taking advantage of women in the villages and cities they marched through, or did they restrict themselves to the "comfort women"? Also, was this a stated effort of the commanders of their army to prevent the rape and pillage of local women?
AnonymousThis topic is very controversial, as I was listening during our session I started making a connection to "comfort women" in the Peruvian Amazonian rainforest. It is said that the army in this country set up brothels for the military because there were reports of women being raped by soldiers, and in an attempt to avoid it the government decided to provide their men with prostitution services. I’m not sure if these women were forced into participating in this “project”, and I don’t doubt they were; however, as sick as it might sound it does make sense. It is not justifiable in any way, they should have found another solution, and still I understand why they went for this option. It’s horrific, but unfortunately this is human nature.
AnonymousI really enjoyed Professor Jung-Kim's lecture on Colonial Korea. Prior to this lecture, I did not have much content knowledge on Korea. Some things I found particularly interesting and shocking was the discrimination against Koreans during colonial times. The idea that Koreans became second-class citizens in their own homes is ridiculous, in that they had different pay scales, name changes, universities downgraded, and gender bias. As mentioned by Natali in class, it would be interesting to compare these struggles with modern day struggles some of our students go through today, in order to really make it relevant, and then have a discussion on what can be done to address these issues. The video clip Professor Jung-Kim also shared in class was also interesting, in that it showed the power of radio and how officials were concerned Koreans were not concerned about independence any more because they were distracted with radio and such. Visuals like these are always great to share with students and have them discuss to include academic discourse in the classroom.
AnonymousI learned so much from Professor Kim's lecture. Growing up, my best friend was South Korean-American so I knew a bit about the culture, food, language and dress but very little about the history. I was born in a country that has been invaded by numerous marauders, imperialists and colonialists. Yet, the idea of adapting my name-- the very essence of one's identity-- was never in question. So, to learn that the Koreans had to accept the Japanese way of life, language and names was utterly unimaginable. I thought it was very clever the way that many hid their Korean names into their new Japanese names as a means of preserving their ancestry and individualism. The invasion of Japan into their world coincided with the onslaught of technology; I wonder if the two are linked in some way. In other words, could Japan have captured Korea in a previous era when technological advances were not happening at break-neck speed? The short video clip prompted such thought and it occurred to me that we need to take advantage of the increasing availability of such resources to help capture the imagination and spark the creative thinking of our students.
edited by niruparmar on 10/18/2015
AnonymousProfessor Jung-Kim's lecture was very enlightening on women's issues in Korea during their colonial period. One thing that stood out to me was was mentioned by the professor was that we never get to hear the side of the story from the perspective of a woman. History has always been told by a man and I appreciated that Professor Jung-Kim tried to give an inside look at what women had to go through and gave women a voice in history.
AnonymousI found session 6 enlightening. The lecture gave me valuable insight into Korean culture, women's roles, history, the relationship with the Japanese during the occupation, and names.
Women aspired to be "new women" and were influenced by the West. They took on careers and modeled themselves after other societies. Marriage changed and women, though many received a stigma and were labeled "improper" they retained their modern perspective.
My student population is largely Korean. My school is very close to Koreatown, I am currently living in Koreatown and it is wonderful to have this background knowledge and insight. I loved "My Name is Keoko" and plan to teach it during a narrative unit that deals with identity and names. The information about the Japanese occupation gave me a lot of understanding in this area.
AnonymousOne of the most interesting facets of Mao’s China was the shift in behavior that was required of young people during the Cultural Revolution. In the past, it seems that China followed a more hierarchical structure that required people to follow filial piety. Having read earlier works on Chinese society and norms, most notably the works of Eileen Chang, it is clear that many people were quick to question long held traditions. In come Mao’s cultural revolution, and a radical shift social practices occurs. To see children carry the fate of the revolution and to see them tasked with having to denounced their parents shows that China drastically changed they way it did things. As I thought about the role of young people as the guardians of the revolution, I wondered how their role impacted family structures. Per Professors Clay’s lecture, some couples divorced, I am curious to know how relationships among children an parents were affected? Did a sense of lack of trust of suspicion develop because of this? It seems that these policies had the potential to create a divide within the family unit.
edited by nramon on 11/5/2015
AnonymousAnother wonderfully informative lecture! I really enjoyed reading the excerpt from the historical fiction novel, When My Name was Keoko. It's beautifully written:
"I wasn't supposed to listen to men's business but I couldn't help it. Ears don't close the way eyes do."
"Nobody ever told me anything. I always had to find out for myself. But at least I was good at it."
To be honest, prior to this lecture, I didn't know much about Korea during World War II. I was surprised to learn that Japan sought to destroy Korean culture after conquering the country - going so far as to force citizens to adopt new Japanese names.
Your name is such an integral part of your identity. As Uncle said, your name is your "soul". I can't imagine being told I had to change my name, much less being told I was "graciously allowed" to change my name. I love the way Sun-Hee's family both complied with the name change but also still honored their family legacy and their real last name. The portion about Sun-Hee's Uncle and the resistant movement was enthralling. I'm looking forward to checking out the entire novel.
edited by khumphreys on 11/16/2015
AnonymousIn prepping for second semester, I've added in a few of the lecture notes and readings we've covered in this course on Korea (as I feel like this is the area where our textbook and provided materials are lacking the most). In doing so, I stumbled upon this recent article on the issue of the Japanese government acknowledging the horrors faced by Korean women during the war. Thought others might find it helpful if they're trying to cover the same material in their courses:
AnonymousSession 6 was very informative, I have had so many questions about Korea for a very long time and it was great to get a full history of the most recent events in the country. I knew very little of the Korean colonization from Japan and was glad to hear a more detailed story of the events that took place. Professor Jung-Kim's did a fantastic job of giving the full history. I am still intrigued by the changing of the surnames in Korea. It was very interesting to see how colonization impacted the cultural of the people in Korea. Like many countries who have been effected by colonization I still have questions about the way Japan is viewed to the Koreans today. What remains of Japanese culture in Korea? This question is particularly interesting when you consider North Korea. What do the North Koreans being raised in schools today know about their colonial history? I would like to know more about why the Koreans were not all able to bond after this time of stress that should have unified them all. With the Korean War it seems that there was a deeper problem among the people that kept them all from uniting. Korea is not a very big country but what made these cultural differences that would later drive the Korean people apart?
AnonymousI really enjoyed Professor Jung Kim’s lecture today. I particularly liked her focus during lecture and in her reading selection on the average citizen and bringing out the stories of the people to help us understand the context of the time. One topic that struck me was the organized military sexual slavery of the time. I think that sexual slavery in general is a very methodical military strategy that is also part of warfare, but I am very surprised by the number of women who were enslaved as part of government supported programs!
I think it is very powerful that women to this day are able to come out of the shadows and speak about their experiences. My heart melts for those women who demonstrate every Wednesday at noon (I believe) in front of the Japanese consulate as a reminder of a dark historical time period. It’s beautiful that people bring them flowers and try to literally keep the “comfort” women comfortable with blankets and clothing; providing them with the humanity they deserve. I am also interested in visiting the memorial in Glendale. I am curious at the tone of the description at the memorial and how people perceive the statues today.
Rob_Hugo@PortNWI think that the discussion on “comfort women” was something that I felt I knew about prior to class, however there were many new things that I learned that I was completely unaware of. I think that as a history teacher sometimes I read about a topic and forget to ask the simple questions. I think even the questions of where the comfort women were exactly, how old they were, what the camps entailed were all really new ideas to me. I was surprised to learn the ages of these girls being raped, were between the ages of 11-24, but mostly between the ages of 14-19. I knew that women were being used as sex slaves, but maybe not to what extent and exactly where. I learned that there were not just brothels, but red-light districts, and rape camps. I was surprised to even hear the locations of these camps being in several countries like China, Korea, the Philippines, and parts of Indonesia. I wonder who felt the responsibility to stop this, or who knew this was happening and what attempts were made on an international level to stop this. It is shocking to know that some of these questions were never addressed, and many of these women who are still alive do not have justice for what they endured--or if that could even be possible.
AnonymousThe two stories about children who lost their names during the Japanese occupation can be paired with a more current story called, "The Name Jar." It is a good segue to a lighter topic for my third grade students. The lecturer is so natural in her presentation that it is easy to take for granted how she can so easily answer questions with pertinent information off the top of her head. Relaxed and very enjoyable.