Thoughts about session 6

[Anonymous]

I too really enjoyed the lecture on Korea. A friend of my daughter worked as an attorney in Korea and had some "cultural bumps." It was nice to learn more about the culture. I loved the story about the elevators and the young child that climbed up eleven flights of stairs to get homework. The cultural stories are very easy to share with my students. They don't need to have much historical understanding to understand the differences of culture. Another story my students enjoy is about the availability of media. I think the exposure we have to these kinds of stories are useful because they are accessible to our students.
Somehow her sharing about the west being "barbarians" sunk in better with me. It was the off hand - the west didn't believe in Confucius - in such a matter of fact way.
I love that we are learning more about the distinctive cultural differences of the countries that we are learning about.

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed this class. I have a lot of Korean students and I liked learning about their culture. It really gave me insight into who they are and where their families have come from. I can't wait till the next class about Korea. I also think that this presenter is great!

[Anonymous]

I am looking forward to learning more about North and South Korea also. Before this class I only knew a little tiny bit about South Korea. The only thing I know about North Korea is really that it's a "bad" country and Clinton had to save those two women journalists from jail sentences there last year. I'm looking forward to learning more. What are the differences? The reasons for the differences? What are interactions/noninteractions between the two countries like? How do they feel about becoming a united country? Do they even want to reunite?

[Anonymous]

I am not Korean, but I was surprised to find out that any Asian country was matriarchial. There are so few matriarchial societies in history. In almost every culture I teach in the Ancient World women are little more than the possesions of the men in their lives. I would love to know more about how Korea developed as a matriarchial society and the ways in which it has affected the cultural development of the Korean people.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I was surprised when they said everything in the home is taken care of by the wife, outside of the home was taken care of by the man. I wonder why it is then that I only see korean women at my school. I guess the men are taking care of other outside the home issues, or maybe school issues are considered the women's realm.

[Anonymous]

This session was so informative. It's amazing how much we think we know until we learn what we don't. I had no idea Korea is sooo modernized. And here I was thinking that America was on top of the ever evolving technology revolution. Shame on me. But then again, that's why I'm taking this class so I can my educate myself as well as my students on Asia and other parts of the world.

[Anonymous]

from mchoe,
"This was a great class. I am Korean-American, but I did not know that Korea was a matriarchal society. I know that the middle aged women in Korea have a lot of power as depicted in the photo of the woman yelling at the police. However, in my family, my dad and uncles ran everything. I know of the typical drinking lazy fathers are often covered by a hardworking mothers who will work and take care of the family. I just was not aware that the mothers do run everything.

Thanks for the thought provoking post- it made me think back to one of our earlier readings where the ahead-of-her-time Chinese woman blamed women for the development of a culture in which women are dominated and subjugated as they are so often. I LOVED THAT, because as a woman, I often think- OK, HOW did these stupid cultural mores come into being without the acquiesence on some level by the women themselves!? I mean- we are the LIFE PRODUCERS! Hell-O! Even if we were physically smaller and less powerful, couldn't we have used our smarts and wisdom to turn the tables?
I think women have to start taking some responsibility here. Without that- nothing ever changes. Can I do my part by mentioning just how much "Sex and the City," and it's Cinderella/materialistic "every woman's fantasy," makes me want to PUKE!? Or how much pop cultures vision of women in general makes me want to puke?! Don't even get me STARTED on how much Disney makes me want to puke! I ALWAYS throw these perspectives out to my classes. Not everyone get it, or agree, but SOME will think about it....[Edit by="price on Jun 1, 12:50:31 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Professor Jung-Kim covered alot of material in a very short time. It was all very interesting and new information to me. The descriptions of the 3 eras of globalization in Korean history were fascinating. Jennifer was also able to share insights and information about current conditions in Korea. Very interesting.

[Anonymous]

Not my favorite session. One of strengths of thesde seminars has been the Powerpoint presentations that include many photos. Though the professor is obviously extremelyu knowledgeable on the topic, the lack of photographs leaves too much to the imagination. Hopefully she will include more photos in her next session.

[Anonymous]

I really liked the list presented about Korea. The list allowed me to organize so much information and see the whole picture better, also makes the information more approachable. What struck me was the comment that Korea is not a copy of China only that it borrowed certain things. Being Mexican-American I can explain what qualities we share or have different between other Spanish speaking countries. I wish there was a simple chart or something that could help me understand and explain the different Asian countries such as languages, food, religions, customs and cultural norms.

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