Session 6b: Korea: Past, Present and Historical Understanding

[Anonymous]

Today's lecture and information is enlightening to me. I was never fully aware of how the U.S. and Russia "devised" the split for North and South Korea. It helps me to understand why the S.Koreans protest the U.S. military stationed there, and at the same time why there is a need, I think ( ie. Seoul 30 miles away from N.Korea). I find it interesting to know that the current youth population don't identify with the Korean War and don't suppport the current U.S. involvement there. korea's geographical position is also interesting to study. In a way, they are caught bewteen a rock and a hard place (looking at economics, trade, history). I am glad to know they are a strong, proud nation (N and S), but wish the U.S. could improve their status with the regular people in S.Korea and do something to improve the living conditions in N.Korea without being suspect. The current N.Korean leader has many more years to go and I am assuming his (40 year old, next in line) son is similar to him, so unless China can let the U.S. ride on its coat tails into N.Korea, change doesn't look like it's in the forseeable future. The movie night with Clay gave us good insight into the "brotherhood" that can be , might be, is felt between a N. and a S. Korean soldier when they are stationed in the DMZ zone. It was especially good to view that movie, since I don't think it's readily available to the public.

[Anonymous]

Teaching Idea: From this session about Korea, I latched onto the phrase "How did Korea get jazz" as a hook to teach new cocepts and stimulate student thinking. I've chosen 3 in a group to keep the students focused on the task, as with 4 there are sometimes side-bar conversations going on. In groups of 3, students can ponder the question. Then take on new challenges to learn about Korea. The teacher can start the list of questions, but eventually students will want to create the list. Example: How did Korea get jazz? How did Korea get batteries? How did Korea get corn? and on and on. The group writes down an educated/uneducated guess, then researches as best they can to find the answer. Sometimes it may come from reasonable deduction or inference, be placed on hold, then followed up by another group or another year's research. The activity can be changed up or down to read " How did the U.S. get________" "How did the Food Industry get Labeling Laws?" It lends itself to a good unit on Inquiry and Research, Timelines,.......as well as Debate and Oral Presentation.

[Anonymous]

I had been eager to learn about Korea since I was introduced to this seminar months ago. Professor Hwang did not disappoint. Like the information on Japan, I felt that I had a major reason to stay tuned in to what was being said- five major reasons, actually. I currently rent a room in a house shared with five Koreans! As has been mentioned before on this topic thread, I was taken aback by the U.S'. direct influence on the splitting up of the country, as well as the distrust the Koreans still have for continued US presence (in Okinawa and other parts of Japan as well... always a hot issue). I was always led to believe that the real animosity was between North and South Korea. Not so.
A fantastic film to watch (besides JSA) is one released in 2006 and available at any local Blockbuster or Netflix, about a monster created from America's negative influence on Korea, literally! A pushy American scientist bullies a Korean scientist into dumping loads of poisonous chemicals into the local river, and the rest is history. While the plot on the surface is a Korean family reuniting to fight the beast, the real message is that the U.S. makes a mess out of just about everything under the guise of good intentions. The name of the film: The Host. When The Host was released, it was the highest grossing film in Korean cinema history. Back in 2001, JSA accomplished the same feat. No small coincidence.

[Anonymous]

I was impressed by the numbers of people that seemed to be in attendance at the different rallies/protests. Demonstrations were never small, but instead there appeared to be millions of people standing side by side fighting for the cause. I wonder how this impacts the results. What is the success rate on the protesters achieving their goal, ultimately getting what they want? Are those who are being protested against more apt to give in? Is there a sense of power and control in their numbers? Or are they disregarded nonetheless? I would love to know the answer to these questions. It could spearhead great conversations with my students about the power of numbers. I could have them compare the act of the Korean masses with the acts of the civil rights leaders and their followers, something that is discussed in the American literature we study.

[Anonymous]

How fascinating and fun was this lecture! At the time of the seminar I was certain that I would do my lesson plans on the Korean War. Currently I spend one day discussing it in the context of the Cold War and I would love to elaborate on the effects the war had on Korea. I thought it would be fun for the students to do a past / present lesson like Professor Kyung Moon Hwang did for us. Unfortunately, I changed my lesson plan idea to something more recent in my curriculum because I got caught up in the business of the new school year that I couldn't juggle revamping my early lessons while planning a new one that I knew I wouldn't teach for 8 months! So although I have incorporated more of East Asia into my "Age of Exploration" lesson, I do look forward to finishing the research I started on Korea. While researching I came across something called the Sunshine Policy. Have any of you heard about this and incorporated the policy into your teaching? I am surprised that the professor did not mention this to us. It is the policy that seeks to bring about peaceful coexistence in Korea between the North and the South. I have read both good and bad things about the effects of this policy and it might be interesting to give the students some basic facts & the differing opinions in order to stimulate discussion on the issue. I really think the students would grasp ahold of the issue if they were asked to put themselves in Korea's position... Imagine such a stark division between the United States? ...

[Anonymous]

If Koreans base their identity on their history then the North must really be the rebirth of the Hermit Kingdom and classical Korea. That massive starvation cannot generate revolt or mass exodus testifies to the tight leash a compliant military can keep on the populace. The DMZ seems to have the purpose of keeping people in as much as the Berlin Wall.
The history of Korea after World War II seems to have been a decades long civil war with the Korean War being as nasty a brother-on-brother conflict as has ever occurred. As the South has grown more and more prosperous in the last couple of decades, the longing to reunify the country and the culture is palpable. Sadly the North is a feudal kingdom, and the power relationships that have developed can't be assuaged as easily as the reunification of East and West Germany.

[Anonymous]

yes, I was and am impressed with Korea's modernization, One thing I am not too familiar with is the art of S Korea. With all the news about the Chineese contemporary art scene and the high prices the artists are getting I was happy to learn that the art scene is alive and well in Korea. However I have not been able to learn much about contemporary art in Korea, I have since learned the art center of Korea is in a district of Seol called Insadon district and is the home of approx. 5O art galleries.

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