You asked me “Kate, would you like to get a bite to eat?”13
I said yes and then we went to La Sosta for scallops and gnocci 17
Now we don’t go to La Sosta ; we make them in our own home 15

Ok, so I loved Jennifer Kim Jung. She was a perfect cap to the lecturers. I found her reading list for both art and literature both informative and teacher friendly. She made an instant connection to the group by having us do a fun and teachable activity in writing the sijo. I love activities that instantly kick start creativity and all can be successful at it. I also liked the fact that she wanted to know us and had us introduce ourselves.
As with each presenter, she covered so much content, but the piece of literature that stood out for me were the essay on “Ho Nasorhon and “Shakespeare’s Sister” by Kichung Kim, Both of these had great resonance for me. I was able to learn so much about the position of women in 16c Korea, and also learn about the training of poets. I still see a thread of female poets that could make a great unit for someone. I think this essay would be best suited for older students, perhaps even those of my students choosing to go on to art conservatories, to discuss the practicalities of becoming an artist when you must also be a family member and perhaps even work to support your habit. It is an interesting story of an artistic life. Ho Nasorhon's story is that of an epic tragedy and I think students will relate to her.
I thought the story “When my name was Keoko,” by Linda Sue Park was the most approachable piece of writing we received. It brought up so many great issues about colonization, and could be used to discuss family, naming, changing of names to blend in the dominant culture. I often encourage newly arrived Korean students to keep their original names, and they are quick to want to Americanize their name. In the end, many of them are sorry they didn’t persist a bit longer with their birth name. This story seems perfect for my grade 9/10 students and I am sure I will have them read it.
I would love to get a copy of her PowerPoint shown today as both the text and the arts were perfect for my classroom. It had so many clear descriptions of the philosophical underpinnings of Korean culture- very clear and easy to use with students. I spent quite a bit of time with her recommended art resources and found much that I could use with my students. The document “A Teacher's Sourcebook for Korean Art & Culture,” (from the Peabody Essex Museum), starting on page 14 there is a very useful list of symbols that is a perfect primer to help students both look at Korean art and employ in their own design. And the document “Arts of Korea A Resource for Educators’” from the Metropolitan Museum, had a chart called “Dynastic Chronology of Korea, China, and Japan”on page 21 that shows how the Dynasties of the three cultures we are studying align. I’ve been wanting this information all week, and I’d like to suggest that teachers in future seminars get this info at the onset, as it is nice to see the correlations of what was happening in each place, and I have been also comparing in my mind what is going on in Europe and the New World during some of these eras- as teachers it would be fun to discuss this, so that we can make even stronger connections for our students.
edited by jmcmanus on 8/6/2015

I loved listening to Jennifer Jung-Kim! She was an incredible speaker and had so much interesting information. I loved the activity with the Sijo poetry and think it might be a fun and educational activity for my students to do. But I also loved the readings that were with the literature of this session. When talking about the Korean War I plan on having my students read the story Cranes. After reading the story I would like them to do a short writing activity about what they would do if they were in this situation? Would they turn their friend over to the authorities or would they set him free? I think this would help them have a little idea of some of the difficult issues the Koreans faced.

True confession time. I had planned to stay emotionally detached in this class. Unfortunately Clay's and Kim's readings really spoke to my humanity in a very emotional way. All sorts of perspectives such as honor, shame, guilt, friendship, and love came up for me in a personal manner. I believe that the aforementioned emotions can and should be discussed and written about in the context of another culture (Asia) and its' struggles. A writing assign delving into the emotions and struggles found within the assigned literature from Clay and Kim would serve that purpose well. Thinking maps and Venn Diagrams would be quite useful.

When young, I assumed my youth was eternal.
Like a young foolish heir, I spent my vigor and strength on valueless things that wasted my time.
Now I see the change left over of my life.

The Radiant Heat of the Days and Nights
Mosquitoes and Sweat
A Bumpy eighteen hour flight over the Sea
No Leg Room to Rest
But it is a Joy to be there
A mere Once a Year

Gold and jewels is always cool, but I would have dismissed it until I saw the gold plated marriage certificate (which I told Clay Dube that such an item would make a great anniversary present...beats those See's Candy boxes!). That item got me thinking about a fun discussion or art/writing activity I could do with students (4th grade) where I could ask them what they would immortalize in gold? Parents already bronze baby shoes, or pregnant women plaster bellies. Why not gold plate your report card, high school, college diploma?

I would add the 50,000 Korean bill with the woman author depicted to our discussion of other Asian countries with Asian women and our own (American) hunt for the right person on the new $10 bill.

Sin YuBok's paintings have many everyday scenes. I would use some of them to discuss cultural similarities. If we look at the classroom painting, where one student is in trouble and others are laughing around him we can certainly relate to this regardless of culture, country, or time period. Paintings of strolls at the park, by a mountainside, or at riverside are all images students can relate to with little background knowledge about Korean mythology. This is an important step in appreciating art for what it tells us about everyday life, and not just religion, or western focused images. Jean-Honoré Fragonard"The Swing" is something we can understand, but is no less valuable than Yubok's playing checkers under a tree.