Session 2 readings, 9/9 afternoon

[Jasmine Wang]

I really appreciate the connections you made with the reading and what is going on with socio-political conditions in this country.  Some other connections I'm thinking about is even looking at Koreatown and Little Tokyo and the changing demographics.  During undergraduate school, I met an Asian Americans MA student who was looking at the demographic changes of Little Tokyo and how it has changed from dominantly Japanese elders to Korean elders.  For whatever reason, Japanese elders were being pushed out and/ or bought out by Korean elders and Korean companies. This text could really help students understand and make connections with current issues and events in their communities. 

[Jasmine Wang]

i was also surprised about the wood blocking fact! Chinatown in Los Angeles has many stores that sell numerous mini handmade, woodblock stamps! For fun, I was thinking about a DIY woodblocking activity with students... or my son! 

[Cindy Nguyen]

I like this article because it gives a more detailed account of the Korean War than most history books.  It hard to teach about the Korean War because its only mentioned as a side story to the Cold War.  The Cold War unit is more focused on the aggression between United States and Russia and little time is given to the raging wars in Asia.  In Liberation, Civil War, and Division gives the background account of Kim Il Sung and his rise to power in North Korea.  I was slightly surprised to read that Kim Il Sung was working with the Communist party in China and even sent his guerrilla soldiers to help Chinese in Manchuria.  Now I understand the connection between China and North Korea.  I would photocopy only certain parts of the reading and have the students annotate the reading as supplementary work to the cornell notes that would be presented on North Korea.

[Eric Hoh]

It just occured to me that it is commonplace to see the media associate and connect China and North Korea together. Of the few people and/or students that I know of who are cognizant of this political-economic relationship between the two nations, I have never heard anyone explicitly (or implicitly) recognize the historic context in which these nations established said relationship. I was personally involved with the high school club known as LINK (Liberty in North Korea). I can see a club like this as an excellent opporunity to provide a more tangible learning opportunity for students. 

[Eric Hoh]

First off, I think it is awesome that you have the opportunity to teach a range of students with East Asian ethnic backgrounds. I know that you teach in Bakersfield, so I imagine that your students are quite diverse. I can imagine that attempting to address "the subtleties" of this topic might be very challengin. The process of how filial piety and Confucianism passing into other East Asian societies and what it becomes in each context might seem irrelevant to students, but I realized the process of cultural blending is present in Hispanic/Latino culture and society as well! This might be a good opportunity to engage in a cross-cultural discussion about students' lives and experiences in conjunction with their understanding of their unique ethnic histories. 

[Jacqueline Mercado]

I decided to read this piece delineating facts about Korea because I wanted to become educated on Korean history and culture.  I feel that much attention is given to the two major powers in East Asia, China and Japan, and not much is devoted to Korea.  So, I really appreciate this text because it is a quick read, it is informative and it would be an easy text to read with students if I was to create a lesson on Korea.  Through my reading of this text,  I learned about the historical and cultural influence China has had in the development of Korean culture, government, religion and language.  While there is this historical influence that exists between China and Korea, Korea has developed into a distinct nation to be considered globally for its unique accomplishments, innovations in technology, film and sports.   Since I really do not know much about Korea, I am particularly glad to be exposed to this text and feel that this would be an easy text to use with students to educate them about Korea as well. One could use this text as a source of general knowledge about Korea or use it in a more focused lesson in which students are asked to compare and contrast the distinct differences and similarities between Korea and other Asian countries, such as China and Japan.

[Evelyn Mendoza]

I can really relate to this story in the significance of one’s name. Weirdly enough, I didn’t learn my “real” name until I was about 16 years old and my father was petitioning the US for my residency! Before that time, I was always called by what I thought was my name, Evelyn. After I received my permanent residency, I was forced to go by my legal name, a name that was very foreign to me. I disliked that name so much, I didn’t feel it was me, cause it wasn’t! Luckily, when I became a US citizen, I was able to change my name back to what I had always known.

Besides being able to relate to this story, I also like that there is a lot of symbolism and a lot of foreshadowing. I would like to bring this story in to the classroom to see what students think different parts of the story mean. For example, I would want to know why they think the father wore traditional Korean man’s clothing, why he wore a black armband, and even why he chose the name Iwamoto. I found a good resource from the Korea Society website for this story, and I got these ideas from there. 

[Evelyn Mendoza]

I also found this reading interesting. I feel that Michael Pettid had many significant examples that demonstrated the important contributions of women in labor and the household, overall. It was believed that the labors of men and women were clearly divided: men were concerned with farming; women were concerned with the production of cloth. From the various folk tales, songs, and poems, it becomes apparent that women, too, played a role in harvesting. Additionally, an encyclopedia of women’s daily life, “discusses the management of a rural household and goes into great depth explaining when to plant various crops, when to harvest, and how to raise livestock.”  

Gathering sources like this is of great value for women, especially when the struggle for equal pay for equal work and even the blurring of social roles continues. 

[Valerie Doby]

I like the format of the top 10 things as well.  I think for older students I would have a group develop each number.  They would research and present it in a unique fashion, bring in artifacts, articles. I have each group teach the class about every level of the 10 things you should know about Korea.  They would then be the experts on that topic and would be used as we go deeper into learning about Korea.

[Catalina Silvestre]

 

 

In the article, the top ten things to know about Korea, I was not surprised by something that stood out to me. “Since the end of the Korean War, Koreans have stressed the importance of education, leading to an education mania that has resulted in a 98 percent literacy rate.  This is not surprising, as I’ve always known that Korea was more literate versus the students in the US.   Education seems to be more significant in this region then in the region that we live in.   This is been made evident by the programs that are available for teachers from the U.S. to travel over to different areas in that region to teach students.  The benefits of having students that are more literate means that the work force will be stronger and smarter.  Giving the people in this region higher technological advance.  For this reason the United States tends to be, what I consider ions behind in terms of technology and for that reason United States depends a lot on technology based items from this region. 

[Jazmin Luna]

I agree with Nira in that it is fascinating to learn about the history of a country, especially one I have never really studied.  As she mentioned, a person's background does say alot about the person and what the person can or cannot do.  It was interesting to see how there was always tensions between the king and aristocracy, tensions bewteen the capital and other regions.  As well as rebellions and uprisings because of local corruption and the rigidity of the social status system.  This was particularly seen in the movie I reviewed, "The Concubine."  People didn't have say as to whether they thought they were being treated fairly or not.  That depending on their social status, that's how they would be treated.  Even in the reading "Lost Names" it was sad to see how people changed their name and had no say in it, they just had to follow along.  The narrator even says, "I know when to keep quiet."

[Aja Koester]

When I first read When My Name Was Keoko I had not made the connection between the events in the story and the current events with DACA and immigration laws. Now reviewing it through this lens, I am seing so many interesting connections. 

In the beginning of the excerpt, there is a child's voice who is trying to understand an adult conversation. The Uncle states, "they're masters of organization- if they want this done, they can be sure they will find a way" and later on he shows his frustration because he wants the Japanese to be honest that they are forcing them to change their names. Instead, it seems people are speaking as if they have been given a choice, but he knows they have not. The child is trying to make sense of all these pieces of conversation.

Going back to the current events of today, I have recently been working with students on college applications including FAFSA and DACA. When I read Josie's post, this moment in the text of a young child attempting to make sense of an injustice around them stuck out at me because it is what I am seeing with my own students. Many of the students I am working with are being put in a place of trying to understand why they are not feeling accepted by the country they were raised in and identify with. Many of them have asked about the use of the term "illegal alien". This treatment is hurtful to them, but some of them can't seem to articulate how they feel about it, much like the child in the story.

[Tanish Fortson]

Korea in the 21^st Century

Some of the most interesting things I found out about Korea came from an article by Edward J. Shultz, which is titled Top Ten Things to Know About Korea in the 21^st Century. One fact is that Korea is the home of many inventions. Monks. Scholars, and students used to spend hours reading and understanding text.  The Silla people produced the wood block printing around year 749, sutra. In 1592 Admiral Yi Sunsin was invaded by Japan and they built the first ironclad vessel used in a naval battle. Because of this, the Japanese had to retreat.

 

Another interesting fact is that the Koreans are among the most technologically linked people in the world. The article explains that technology is behind Korea’s economic growth. I have shared this fact with my students and my students believe that Korean students are like them and have ipads in their classrooms. Korea is in the world’s top five internet-linked countries. Koreans push for education and it is said that they have a 98% literacy rate. Since Korea is one of the most literate societies in the world, they excel in the technology area. Another fact that I learned is that South Korea sent may of the young talent youth abroad to learn about the latest systems in technology then lured them back to Korea with nice economic packages and jobs. This was smart because it keeps them in the ranks with technologically advanced. 

[Ann Huynh]

Professor Jung-Kim's vast knowledge about South Korea is amazing.  There were many ideas presented.  I never knew about comfort women and the conditions that these women were subjected to is appalling.  I do not believe any amount of reparation will ever be enough.  I will have to check the statue in Glendale in the future.  However, as fascinating as the statue is and what it represented, the most useful information from this lecture would have to be the Korean poetry, Sijo, and the yearly contest that students of all ages can participate in.  In my class, we are starting to look at poetry and its format.  I can look at a Korean poetry with my class and we can discuss it.  This will let the students know that poetry can have more than one format and that poetry is an art form that people have used to express their thoughts and ideas, not just in America, but around the world.   

[Ann Huynh]

 

The article about the "Top Ten Things to Know About Korea in the 21st Century" is a great way to get the students familiar about the country of Korea.  There are many fascinating tidbits about Korea that will allow students to know more about this country.  For example, Korea is a technologically advanced country and that a lot of people use cell phones.  This is like America, where many people are on some type of smart device all the time.  Another interesting fact is that the two Koreans want to be united so that families’ wounds can be healed and unified.  According to the article, the Koreans feel that if they were united they would continue to “assert its role of leadership and achieve new marks in the world economy and culture.”  In other words, if the two Koreans become united, they would have more land and people so that they can continue to be a country that will be an important player in the world.     

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