Friday, August 3, morning session - Korean Cultural Center

[Kim Leng]

(I’m fourth from the left front row).

I had a great time learning about Korean culture at the Korean Cultural Center. The video presentation was informative and visually pleasing.  The South Korean landscape is beautiful: clear beaches, majestic mountains, and islands.  I definitely want to visit South Korea one of these days. I learned so much during the visit to the Korean Cultural Center, but I was fascinated the most by the Korean alphabet.  

I did not know that a writing system can be considered scientific.  Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, is considered one of the most scientific in the world. Consisting of 10 vowels and 17 consonants (now 14), each letter has its own specific verbal sound. The vowels symbolize three elements: a dot for heaven, vertical line for man, and horizontal line for earth.  With so many students into K-pop and Korean drama, I can introduce Hanguel in class and challenge students to write some words in Hangeul.  Check out this Britannica guide to Hangeul: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hangul-Korean-alphabet.

[Zoey McKinney]

Hi - I'm in the back row directly under the little red-headed character in the mural.

The Korean Cultural Center was great because it gave background information about the history of Korea in addition to the exhibit on pop culture in Korea. As many have mentioned, the information on Hangul was very interesting due to the differences between it and English. English has so many rules and so many words that break all those rules, and that can be so frustrating for English Learners (and teachers of English Learners). It seems like Hangul would be a lot easier to teach! I think it would be really fun for students to spend a few days learning how to read it - they would feel so accomplished afterwards! More importantly, it would bring them one step closer to another culture and make them more aware of different writing systems. This would also be a great opportunity to give the Korean students in my class the floor. 

I also thought the videos she showed us of the different cities were very interesting. Living in the United States, we know what huge diversity of scenery and landscapes we have here, but I think most people would have very little idea of what Korea looks like. They might draw up a picture of Seoul, maybe Pyeongchang due to the recent Olympics, but that's it (I think this is true for a lot of countries, not just Korea. The United States is so big and many people never leave it.) To be able to see the very different regions of the country gives a better idea of it as a whole, not just a single city. My fourth graders do projects featuring the four regions of California (desert, valley, mountains, coast). Why not research the regions of other locations as well? Maybe they could each pick another state or country and compare its regions to California's. 

I also really enjoyed the K-Pop station in the pop culture exhibit. I've seen a couple K-Pop videos before, but to see just how many there were and to watch a stream of perfectly produced videos, one after the other, really gave me a sense of the industry as Dr. Kim presented it on Monday. 

[Zoey McKinney]

I definitely had a similar thought while we were watching the video introduction. It was really interesting and very informative about Korean culture, but seemed to present an image of Korea that was maybe idealized or sanitized. Then I thought about the creator of the video and their purpose and audience. It seems clear to me that the video was meant for Americans who had never been to Korea, and I thought it was probably promoting tourism, which would make sense for a Korean Cultural Center. In that sense I understand why the video might shy away from presenting some of the historical and political information, especially that which might make Americans feel uncomfortable. I can also see how a cultural center might want to focus more narrowly on language, art, and material culture, although I agree with you that culture is always situated in a historical and political context. I think this video could actually be used effectively in a classroom, not just to inform about Korean culture, but also to talk about author bias and how the purpose behind a piece of media affects its message. It could be interesting to compare it to a more documentary video on Korean history and politics and think about what information is presented in which video and why.

[Jacqueline Mercado]

I agree with your obervation about the video presented to us at the Cultural Center and like you, I understand why the information presented was more idealized than what is the reality of the history of Korea.  I personally found the video misleading but also understand that the purpose of the video is to present the positive attibutes of Korea and its culture as this is the Korean Cultural Center.  But if students were to watch this video, I think it would be important to present other points of view, other sources of information that would present a more complete picture of Korea, its history and culture. I would not want them to have this idealized, one sided view of Korea.   By presenting them with other sources, such as an educational documentary as you suggest, students would not only be introduced to a complete picture of Korean history and culture, but would understand the purpose behind a narrative and that history is more complex and nuanced.  Having said this, I enjoyed our visit to the center and viewing new and interesting facts about Korea that I did not know.  Our visit to this center was very educational for me and I especially appreciated learning fun facts about the Korena language.

[Aileen Level]

I'm in the middle row on the left, wearing sunglasses and immediately below the red ball that the green elephant is kicking. 

I had been to the Korean Cultural Center in the past for a week-long seminar about Korean history and culture. It was an incredible program covering topics from taekwondo and drumming to modern shipping companies and the development of the written language. It was helpful to have a refresher on Korean culture since I haven't been teaching Korea over the past few years and had forgotten some of the information we learned. 

I particularly enjoyed having the opportunity to explore both the museum and the modern culture center. With the current popularity of Korean pop music, there is a natural entry point for our students to learn about Korean culture.

It would have been interesting to see links between the old and new. Are there music videos anyone can suggest in which the Kpop stars appear at historic sites, in traditional Korean dress, or doing traditional Korean cultural activities?

My curriculum looks at the history of writing in the Middle East, Egypt, and China, so it seems like I could find a place to link to the history of the Korean writing system as well. 

[Aileen Level]

Chiming in here with thoughts about the video. A few people also pointed out at the museum that the video only focused on South Korea. It came off as a PR promotional piece rather than a historical documentary, but that's not surprising under the circumstances. I agree with Zoey that it could be useful to incorporate it and talk about point of view, possibly in connection with a different video piece. Does anyone have any suggestions for other Korean culture/history videos that could be used in connection or in contrast?
 

[Kim Leng]

Hi Aileen,

Thanks for this challenge.  I did some searches and found a couple.  Check out “Not an Easy Girl” by Lizzy.  She was part of a group called After School.  Here’s her performance in traditional dress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Az_ZKvlRk and here’s the official music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipouIsX1phI (this one has subtitles).  I also found Topp Dogg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ascOzpuacLY.  This one is particularly interesting.  Some scenes depict the group in traditional wear with modern objects.  The entire video is a blend of old and new. The songs are so catchy! I hope you’ll be able to use at least one of the videos in your class.

[Jennifer Place]

I am in the front center (not sure how that happened!!!) wearing a white shirt and jeans skirt.  This was such a great cultural center.  However, I was Soooooo disappointed that the art exhibit had just closed!  It was very cool to learn about Korean writing!  I loved the exhibits downstairs such as the clothing and every day objects.  Out guide was very knowledgeable and interesting to listen to.  I could have easily spent much more time there!  As always, I wish my students could explore this museum! 

[Stella Castro]

Courtney,I also thought that the symbolic meaning to the Korean Alphabet/Letters had a deep and beautiful representation of life in regards to heaven, earth, and human nature. I too would like to incorporate teaching my students the letters if the Korean culture, not only for the meaning, but also because I think the letters look awesome. I think that my students would like to learn how to write their names in Korean, but I would have to get someone to help me, someone that knows Korean!  Maybe just for them to learn the vowels should suffice. I still think that they would be jazzed to write the vowels and then put them next to the American letters as a compare/contrast of the vowels.  On a couple of occasions, I have seen people with tattoos on their person, with Korean  writing/s, and I thought it looked real nice, that I have at times thought of getting myself a tattoo with the Korean letters, but to date I still don’t know what message, I want to convey(if any). On another note I just want to say that I thought our docent to be very knowledgeable and through of all the Korean facts.

[Stella Castro]

Juana,I really enjoyed this field trip of visiting the Korean Culture Center. It had many wonderful exhibits on the Korean culture, especially as you mentioned, on the first floor. Here there were costumes displayed on the glass cases of traditional dress, where I know the/my students would be in awe to see. The first floor also had a board where one can change the pictures to display places of interest In Korea ,e.g., a marketplace, different cities and the surrounding hotels and restaurants, Then there was  also a replica of a traditional home, where one could see, imagine, or fantasize what it would be like in the inside of a Korean dwelling. Of course, there was a timeline of factual events, and then there was a display of weapons, (if I recall correctly), e.g., swords, or something to that effect. Sadly to say the exhibits on the second floor were gone, as they were on emu first trip, which were mainly paintings of artist that were really nice to see. But in the building next door, there were artifacts of the Korean culture that many would enjoy like, the K-pop recording studio, the 3-D ride going down a mountain on skis, (which unfortunately was not working at the time, or of walking through a/the market place.  There were replicas of toys/figurines that he students would enjoy looking at, and then there was a carton figure of PSY. (A Korean singer of the song “, Gangnam Style”, a song which my students adore. Overall, his is a good place to take students on a field trip.

[Jessica Rodarte]

It might be to make Americans visit but I'm not sure that the erasure of history is for the benefit of Americans.   I think it serves the purpose of increasing Korea's influence in the world at large.  As a history person, I was just rubbed the wrong way by the erasure of history and politics to create a particular national narrative that only focuses on culture.  It seemed disengenous and very intentional.  A lesson on perspective would be a great idea.  I would probably have the kids discuss the motivation to remove elements and the type of national narrative that is being created with these omissions.  

 

 

[Gerlinde Goschi]

Thank you for posting the group picture!  I am in the back/last row, fourth from the left.  What a great day!  

I enjoyed the visit to the KCC.  It was well organized and visually pleasing.  Exploring the two floors was interesting.  I liked the display of the different rooms and the ancient artifacts.  I agree with the comments above about the video at the beginning of our presentation.  It felt a little "Idealistic and maybe a bit sanitized" (Zoey Smith), yet informative.  I felt our presenter/docent brought a real/human feel to the video.  She explained many questions.  She was extremely knowledgeable.  I was impressed by her English skills. 

My favorite was learning about the Korean alphabet, its logic and how to write it.  I was fascinated by the simplicity and elegance of Hangeul.  I am able to bring a lesson to my class, teaching how to write one or two letters a day.  I would add the challenge mentioned above by Aileen to the lesson. It is a great idea and my students would love it! I am excited about the idea of using mulberry paper.  I have found some on Amazon and will allow my students to write the letters on this special paper.

[Natali Ramon]

Jessica,

I also noticed that the video we saw was aimed at encouraging tourism to Korea and it left out a lot of the contentions Korea has had to face. Like you, I was also fascinated by the way Korean was depicted and I deem the film successful in that it makes me very interested in taking a trip to Korea.  I feel that showing a film like this one might serve as a great lesson on literary for our students.  For example, we might see this video with our students and ask them who they believe is the intended audience.  We might also ask why the authors of this video selected to show certain information while excluding other pieces of information that are critical to the politics and history of Korea.  I would also be very interested to see what tourism media looks like for the US.  As a citizen of the US, I have never bother to look up any of these videos. It would also be interesting to create an activity with our students in which we examine what is included or excluded in tourism media for the US and it would be noteworthy to see what image the US aims to craft for itself in the world stage.

[Natali Ramon]

 This is my second trip to the Korean Cultural center and I always learn something new. Today I learned more about how Koreans integrate nature into their diets, clothing, and even into their architecture.  As far as I know, I don’t think we are as mindful about harmonizing with nature as much as Koreans are and this is probably a very crucial thing to do as we encounter environmental challenges with global warming.  As our environment changes we must continue to think about how we can continue to lessen our impact on mother nature as well as how we can adjust our way of living to the new realities we will face in the coming years.  I was also very impressed by the way in which the Korean diet was described.  Our host noted that obesity is not a big issue in Korean since food is not fried and it is cooked with the intention of optimizing the nutritional value of each ingredient.  I would be interested to know how the Korean diet has been impacted by fast food imported from western countries.    

[Ann Huynh]

I am the sixth person in the back row from left to right.  The trip to the Korean Cultural Center was very informative.  I learned about how and why the Korean language was created.  This explained why learning Korean would be easier because of the way the tongue is positioned when a sound is uttered.  In addition to learning this tidbit about Korea, there were many beautifully crafted artworks on display.  There were hand fans and purses to hold trinkets.  There is also a listening booth where you can listen to K-pop songs.  The museum was visually stunning and for the students in my class, it will be a way to introduce them to this country in Asia. 

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