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Anonymous"No man is a failure who has friends." - Clarence Oddbody. Reading the story Kapitan Lee brought this quote to mind. The story works on a number of levels. You feel some grudging admiration for Lee in his ability to adapt to circumstances he believes are out of his control. Simultaneously, the degree to which his moral compass is not working leaves the reader with more than a little contempt for the character. He is completely self-serving and has no firm moral concept with which to guide his life. The fact his moral compass is broken is entirely his own doing as he allowed rationalization and compromise to rule his decision making process. He is a man with considerable skill and a good mind for learning, but that skill has also been warped to serve his own interests as opposed to interests his chosen profession should have guided him towards. This can be seen in the manner through which he chooses which patients he will and will not treat. He has little compassion for others and this, more than anything else, isolates him from friend, family and fellowship.
The writer skillfully uses this isolation and loneliness to forge a sympathetic connection between the reader and Dr. Lee. However this connection is sympathy drawn from the pity one feels that despite all his successes, he will always be alone. He has abandoned his own identity as a Korean through his association first with the Japanese, then with the Russians; all done in the name of survival. Even at the end of the story he is surrendering his country for the promise of more success in the supposed paradise of the United States. In the end, you know he will be left alone, without family or friends. The only thing which he possesses and shares with his fellow man is time. Time represented by an old pocket watch, the only thing he has held onto throughout his life.
edited by jhayden on 12/4/2016
AnonymousI remember reading this story last fall. It was one of my favorites. A beautiful work for the discussion of ethics, especially for a short class period in a junior high or high school. The GATE icons include a black and white picture called ethics, resembling the black and white yin and yang. This story is also a good jumping off point for moral relativism. Which man made the more ethical choice; Tokchae or Songsam? Songsam chose to save himself and abandon his family. How do you view his decision? If you believe he made the wrong decision, do you think he adequately redeemed himself in the end by setting his friend free? Or simply let them read the story and generate their own questions and thoughts for partner or group discussion.
Students would also benefit from learning the history surrounding this story either before or after reading. It depends on the desired outcome.
edited by elizabethr on 12/4/2016
edited by elizabethr on 1/17/2017
AnonymousYi Inguk - 38th parallel - Japanese Control - Soviet Military Occupation - War - US Army - all considered Korean crises by the author, as noted by his character, Yi. Yi's first wife died and the fate of his son is unknown. The author paints this character in a very cold light, without giving us the impression that he genuinely cares about anyone, and yet, he takes great pains to procure the safety of his family in various ways, and without fail after his first wife dies.
This story may most easily be read by students in a straightforward manner, simply noting the historical references and how they affected one Korean family in particular. The actions of the characters come across as surviving many dangerous conflicts fairly well, except the son, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Of course, there seem to be greater implications of character and personality traits alluded to here, that may be more difficult for teenage students to grasp without a background in psychology, personality disorders, or how trauma can affect people.
edited by elizabethr on 1/17/2017
AnonymousOne of the things that interested me the most from the lecture on 12/5 was the discussion about the government’s promotion of entertainment. According to our guest speaker when the Korean government saw the amount of money Jurassic Park made--they decided to promote entertainment because it made more money with less work than building and selling cars.
The reason this grabbed my attention is that my students are so in love with K-Pop. The diagram she showed us was of four circles--one inside the other. The first (and most inner) circle was K-Pop. The outer circles included food, clothes/fashion, language/travel. I have actually witness this in my own high school class. As I mentioned in class, I have a student that spent $15 on a small bag of Korean potato chips because she is so in love with K-Pop. The next day, I saw that she gave the empty bag to another student of mine that also loves K-Pop. My students watch videos, wear clothes with pictures of the K-Pop stars. I have heard them talk about dreaming of going to Korea-or even go to a Korean university. Apparently, whoever came up with the business model was correct because I see it in my students. I can easily use this to pique my students’ interest with K-Pop before I get into the story of “Cranes.” I think the love of K-Pop will carry over to keep their interest throughout the historical and political discussion necessary to set up this story.
AnonymousSouth Korean lawmakers impeached President Park Geun-hye this past Friday. The recent survey showed that over 80 percent supported Park's impeachment. President Park Geun-hye was accused of corrupt activities with Park's friend, Choi Soon-sil, and two former presidential aides. Some examples of corruption include how Choi used her influence to obtain preferential treatment for her daughter, Chung Yoo-ra. Young people were outraged that Chung unfairly won admission to a prestigious University. As a result of the scandalous investigations, Chung Yoo-ra's admission was cancelled due to "preferential treatment in grading". Her high school diploma has been cancelled as well due to false high school records. The problems of inequality in those born into privilege still rule South Korea and in the United States as shown in the recent 2016 presidential election. With this political awakening students can compare and examine how to solve the problems we also face in the U.S.
edited by cgao on 12/16/2016
AnonymousThe 2014 Sewol ferry sinking was the biggest tragedy in South Korea’s recent history. Most of 300 Sewol ferry victims were school kids who drowned on a field trip due to government corruption and scandal. President Park Geun-hye was criticized for being involved in covering criminal activities with government aids into providing financial favors to large business companies. The government was also blamed for cutting corners in regulating safety procedures, training of the incompetent ferry crew members and poorly treating the victim’s families.
Hopefully the recent impeachment of President Park will empower the young generation to improve the system and end corruption. The general attitude use to be ‘obey adults, so young people should submit, study or be still.’ But the phrase “stand still” was an insult to the “Sewol Generation.” Relatives of the victims cheered after the 2016 impeachment was announced. It showed a glimpse that the sufferings of their families would not be in vain and that young people would rise as an agent of positive change.
edited by cgao on 12/16/2016
AnonymousAutism and China
Extra Assignment
I am very fortunate to be attending a Social Learning Conference with Michelle Garcia Winner as the keynote speaker. Michelle has done an incredible job in working with children and adults with social learning deficits, writing curriculum and books to help students and teachers, developing strategies that support students' learning, along with many other positive teaching tools. As I am receiving this useful information, I wonder what supports and outlets are offered in China.
There is no official data on the amount of children with autism living in China; however, from a 2006 survey, they estimate that around 110,000 children above the age of six have been diagnosed with a developmental disorder. The Federation speculates that the number will continue to rise with awareness and information in this area. With the large number of students being diagnosed, there is a shortage of trained professionals to teach and support this group of students and their parents. Tian Huiping started the Beijing Stars and Rain Institute for Autism, after his son was diagnosed in in Germany during 1993. For 20 years, the school helped 85,000 autistic children and their families as well as training 1,179 specialized teachers.
Since Huiping started his Institutes for Autism, Beijing has opened an additional school and Autism Care was included in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-2015). This is encouraging news for children with autism and their families because it’s the first time it has been mentioned in the government’s blueprint for social and economic development. One of the worries for parents of children with autism is, who will take care of our kids if and when we die, and how will they be treated? With the changes that are taking place, parents can find some peace in knowing that the government is starting to consider and acknowledge this disability. In April 2016, six teachers from the Stars and Rain Institute were awarded the chance of studying in The United States, sponsored by a charity organization to gain extra support and knowledge to bring back to China.
AnonymousThe discussion of K-pop and Korean culture is a fascinating one for any teacher of teenagers. I teach a unit on North Korea in my geography class and think this adds another level of depth to the discussion. The current events and themes that run through South Korea would be interesting to have students look at as a blunt response to the dictatorship in the North. I think that having students look at the ferry disaster could also be a good way to juxtapose the different cultural norms, maybe even in psych this could be interesting.
AnonymousSince I teach economics and economics is about behavior I found this short story very interesting. The story’s main character (I am reluctant to call him the protagonist) Dr. Yi Inguk is the quintessential survivor, a man who will do anything to maintain his status during an extremely perilous time in Korea’s history. However, his moral bankruptcy is almost forgivable in light of the situations he finds himself and his family. Japan first occupied and then proceeded to colonize Korea beginning in 1910, transforming it into an industrial powerhouse. The 35 year occupation only ended with the defeat of Japan in WWII. As the Japanese war effort ramped up between 1937 and 1945, the Koreans were subject to harsher and harsher treatment. Men were conscripted into the Japanese military and tens of thousands of Korean women were forced into prostitution as “comfort women.” The Japanese tried to obliterate Korean identity and merge it with their own, pressuring Koreans to adopt Japanese names—a measure that 80 percent of Koreans complied with.
The mind of the occupied, the “slave” as author Chon Kwangyong described it, is subject to stresses that we can hardly imagine. Chon writes, “A slave unable to revolt against his master denies himself tomorrow and seeks a comfortable life day to day.” This was as true for the pre-Civil War house slave as it was for the Nazi collaborator in WWII Germany. It takes great strength of character to overcome or even resist overwhelming social, economic, and political situations. Dr. Yi’s coping mechanism is to adapt at any cost to make his life more bearable. Like Maslow’s model of needs would imply, Yi cannot reach self-actualization because he has not satisfied his need for physical, social, and economic security. This can explain why Yi treated his self-respect and posterity as an afterthought, since he is constantly struggling to meet these lower-order needs. I think realization of this causes us to suspend judgment on Yi somewhat, because it makes us pause and ask ourselves what we would do in the same situation. This story can help students understand the moral ambiguities created by conflict and why normally good people do not always choose to do the right thing.
edited by jdoll on 12/29/2016
AnonymousThe K-Pop wave craze highlights Korean culture with the explosion of Korean drama and silly reality television. Quite ridiculous that viewers even tune in to see someone eating dinner or knitting a sweater for over two hours live. It’s even translated into other languages around the world.
My students would be entertained to see the growth and can explore the marketing stratification of Hallyu of K-pop drama, film, game, food, language, fashion, tourism and cosmetics. They would also be shocked to see Korean beauty products of snail secretion and other gross ingredients sold in the markets. Women even pay hundreds of dollars to have live snail goo crawl on their face. Fancy bottles of fermented soy-bean for anti-aging and egg whites are being sold for outrageous amounts. Too many young consumers are beauty obsessed and have the longest beauty ritual in the world from candy-colored sheet masks to an entire 8 set hello kitty beauty regime.
AnonymousProfessor Jennifer Jung-Kim spoke of the rising popularity of Korean food in America. I’ve been a fan of Korean BBQ for some time, but Bakersfield is more of a mid-priced-chain-restaurant-kind-of-town. So I was pleasantly surprised when a new Korean restaurant opened in Bakersfield a few years ago. I have eaten there a few times and sampled things like Bibimbap (“mixed rice”), Bulgogi (“fire meat”), ssam (lettuce wraps), and namul (seasoned vegetables). However, it struck me as odd that Korean food was such a recent addition to the culinary offerings in my home town. There are Chinese restaurants that have been in business for more than 75 years and sushi has been well established since the late 1980s. In addition, a handful of both Vietnamese and Thai restaurants have popped up in the last couple decades, so why a Korean food awakening now?
One explanation comes from food writer Matt Rodbard. In his book Koreatown U.S.A., Rodbard compares Korean restaurants to emerging Thai cuisine in the 1990s and 2000s. Whereas proponents of Thai food were trying to appeal to the wider culture by standardizing menus and offering crowd-pleasing dishes like pad Thai, Korean restaurants were relatively insular, “for Koreans, by Koreans.” Because Korean food wasn’t marketed the way other Asian food trends had been, it was slow to gain acceptance by the greater American population. Rodbard concluded that Korean cuisine was “virtually unspoiled in American restaurants, with no pad Thai or General Tso's Chicken equivalent.” This made Korean food attractive to the nascent “foodie” culture of the last couple decades.
I could use this in my classroom when I talk about factors of demand, one of which is a change in taste or preference for goods and services demanded.
edited by jdoll on 1/6/2017
AnonymousI was thinking of using this story in my classroom. It is short enough and gets to the point. We spend a significant amount of time on North and South Korea and and an escape story would fit in well. I would teach the history first and then weave in the literature piece to make the story come to life. I thought the story was well written and described some of the hardships in leaving family.
AnonymousThis is really interesting to me, my mother specializes in autism behavior modification. We've all heard the gauntlet of proposals for what can cause autism and my mother takes everything with a grain of salt but there are two "causes" that are important to China. Preliminary studies linking air pollution to an increase incidence of autism and lead in rice cookers. While we have regulations on both of these, China does not and that is why these are important factors. Interesting to hear how China deals with autism in the future.
AnonymousThe current president of South Korea has had a very eventful presidency, especially in the time I’ve been in this class and most recently. Park Geun-Hye the current president of South Korea has always had a part of the population that has questioned her ability to rule. She currently has stepped back from her rule as impeachment allegations and hearings are going on. Three days ago she was officially impeached by her parliament. The main reason for this impeachment is because of a scandal involving her relationship with a controversial figure. Park’s father was the president of South Korea in 1974, During this time her mom was shot and killed in an assassination attempt on her father. At 22 she had to stand in as the first lady to the presidency of her father. During this time she formed a friendship and considered Choi Tae-Min a mentor. He was the leader of a cult called Church of the Eternal Life. At this time he became very powerful and very wealthy. She then became very close to his daughter who was much like him. The daughter was arrested recently on charges of fraud, coercion, and abuse of authority among other things. This relationship between the two got looked at carefully and people realized that this relationship may have influenced Park’s decisions. There was also a money issue that both were accused of being a part of. We will find out in the coming days if she will be removed from office.
AnonymousIt seems we are dealing with two world leaders with trigger fingers… er um twitter fingers … which can cause trigger fingers. Kim Jong Un has been dropping hints that he’s has a ballistic missile ready to test launch. This after claiming to test his hydrogen bomb last year. In an effort to dismantle U.S. and South Korean relations, Kim Jong is boasting his “military capabilities” which has already grown in strength since his father’s death. Now with his evolving nuclear and missile programs, Kim Jong is also boasting the development of a long-range nuclear missile also known as the Trump Boomerang.
The president-elect quickly took to Twitter and proclaimed of the missile test: “It won’t happen!” (sigh) With Donald Trump set to take office on the 20th, it’s not in our best interest to have someone make the U.S. even more of a target for Kim Jong’s wrath. The possibility for the U.S. to make a conciliatory move toward the North is completely unlikely under our new knee-jerk reacting, policy announcing via Twitter leadership. With glaring flaws in the Trump foreign policy that may be sure to lead to a crisis this situation – of his own doing – is probably going to be his most imminent security challenge.
edited by rcharles on 1/18/2017