Self-introductions

[SaenzSotoElizabeth]

Hello, everyone!

I am Elizabeth Saenz (pronounced like "signs") Soto and work in the city of Cudahy at Elizabeth Learning Center which is a span school (we have ETK-12th grade students). You will not forget me because as I always say at PDs - "My name is Elizabeth and I work at Elizabeth Learning Center on Elizabeth St" :). I have worked in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 10+ years. This coming school year I will again be teaching 6th-12th grade ELD 3 and 4 students, 9th and 10th grade ELA (Core and Honors), and 11th and 12th grade Latinx Literature. I love technology although it does not always love me so I have sponsered both our middle school and high school Robotics teams for the past four years.

On the personal side, I am a Los Angeles born and raised (Boyle Heights) Mexican American and I am a product of the LAUSD school system. I have been married nearly 27 years and we have three amazing children (two daughters and a son). We are also "Cali mom and dad" to eight boys and girls from China as we have been host parents in the past. We truly love connecting with the young students and hope to start hosting again once we complete some home renovations. I have been interested in all cultures since I was a little child. I have clear memories of watching Korean, Japanese, and Chinese variety, cooking, and dramas with my dad as I was growing up. He loved to see cooking shows and I would watch them with him and then keep watching whatever came on afterwards. I was "sucked" into that rabbit hole even before internet made it even more so. I felt I could relate and enjoy those shows more than the typical Caucasian shows on every other mainstream channels growing up. As the years have gone by I have also tried to ingrain in our own children the need to enjoy and appreciate other cultures and ethnicities and continuing to watch shows or listen to music from other countries has connected my children and I. We have attended concerts, conventions, night markets, fairs, etc. in order to appreiate them even more. In doing so I have mentioned this to my students and now that so many have become aware about K-Pop thanks to acts like Psy and BTS (my husband had coined the term "K-Poppers" YEARS ago) in the Western part of the world, my students were excited and felt more accepted knowing they could talk to an adult about music and shows that they loved but that their parents/family did not or did not want to understand (EXO was a bridge even before BTS). I loved it then and will continue to love it. Next on my list? Learn to better understand, speak, and write in Korean and Chinese. Would love to be a polyglot even at my age!  

[LeeYoonJu]

안녕하세요! Hello!

My name is YoonJu Lee, and I currently teach Korean language and culture at Marlborugh School (7th-12th) in Los Angeles. 

We had growing interest in Korean language and culture in the past few years, and I'm always looking for opportunities to learn and gain resource to best teach my studentes. 

잘 부탁드립니다! 

[LeeHee-Jung]

Hello! I am Hee-Jung Lee and I teach the Korean language and culture in secondary school in Dublin, Ireland.  I wanted to participate in this workshop becuase I planned to incorporate Korean cultures into my class. Therefore it will be a great opportunity to meet and share through workshop. I look forward to meeting you on zoom soon. 

[Daniel Moon]

I'm a 3rd year Biology teacher in LA Unified, and most importantly, a graduate of the better university across town, 😉 Looking forward to learning more about how the US' and its citizens' perception of South Korea has changed through time and to hearing from all of you

[Peggy Lovro]

Hello everyone, my name is Peggy Lovro. I teach Mandarin Chinese and Fresh Seminar at the Center for Global Studies, a magnet high school located in Norwalk, Connecticut. Althought our school doesn't offer Korean as a second language, students are super interested in many aspectes of Korean culture, from K-pop, K-drama to K-food, K-beauty....I signed up this course hoping to learn more about what drives K products to become so popular in the US and maintains its continous popularity. I'd also like to learn how Hallyu wave mirrors the social changes in Korean society.  I am excited to join another great seminar offered by USC US China Institute. 

[RosasRegine]

Did younji share this course with you? Hahaha 🙂

[ChoGrace]

 

Hello everyone,

 

I’m finally able to access the course materials.  Currently, I’m a Department of Secondary Education professor at Cal State University, Fullerton. I was born in Korea but grew up in Argentina and in LA. Having gone through acquiring a second language & acculturating to a new culture twice, and as a former LAUSD Spanish bilingual teacher, my teaching and research interests continue to focus on preparing culturally and linguistically diverse populations.  My research foci are on bilingual education, heritage language development, and teacher education. Currently, I am involved in developing Korean American Ethnic Studies Curriculum for K-12 classroom teachers.  Please feel free to access and share with others [www.kasef.org].

 

 

So far, I’m learning so much from these rich discussions. I’m impressed by Dr. Jung-Kim’s knowledge of K-pop culture.  Thanks to my two daughters who love K-pop, I am also finally getting familiar with K-pop.  For a long time, though, I love watching Korean dramas. One of my recent favorite K-dramas I enjoy watching with my daughters is the “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”  I think there are many cultural aspects and current issues to converse with one another about K-pop.  

 

Looking forward to engaging in more rich discussion next week. 

 

Grace Cho

[Author]

Posts