Session 4 (10/14) - Korea Since 1800

[Zoey McKinney]

I love the idea of having students observe and record evidence of foreign cultures' impact on our own society, whether that's American society or Los Angeles' society or even within a certain neighborhood. It's so interesting to think about how popular Korean culture has become, especially compared with how little Korean history is addressed in the typical curriculum, especially compared to China and Japan. Students probably are consuming Korean culture through music, TV, movies, skin care, etc. as you said, but what can they tell you about the Korean War? Probably not much. I think your idea would be a great hook to get kids more interested in learning about Korean history as well.

[Maria Cardenas]

I have found learning about Korea over this summer very interesting. Korea went through a lot from Japanese colonization, to gaining their independence after WWII, divison between North (USSR) and South (U.S.), The Korean War, and the war ending in a stalemate. I have learned about south korean culture from k-dramas, k-pop, and korean food. I have gone to South Korea twice; once to study there over the summer and the second time in the winter. North Korea, I didn't know much besides what I saw in T.V. Then I learned more from the usc seminars I have taken. 

The "North Korean Nuclear Negotiations, 1985-2019" grabbed my attention because it shows you the sequence of events and it includes images. The event has an image, date, and brief description, which I don't think it is too much for students to read. The pdf file does have 34 pages, which means I will place students into groups of 4 or 5. Each group will be given about 4 or 5 pages to analyze and discuss. Students will first state what event they were assigned, when did it happen, what do they see in the image. Then they will discuss the importance of the event in North Korean status in the world or importance of the event in North Korean history.

[Brigid Schmidt]

The recent class discussion was really helpful in allowing me to see ways I could teach students about the Korean War. At first I thought the content was too mature for middle schoolers, but at Prof. Jung-Kim and my classmates pointed out, students are taught about The Revolutionary War and The Civil War, among aothers, at even earlier ages. From the lectures and the reading Prof. Dube put in the chat, there were some things that stood out to me about this "Forgotten War." The article mentions that before 1941, the US had no vital interests in Korea and was pretty much indifferent to its fate. The attack of Pearl Harbor obviously changed this causing the US and the Allies to advocate for making Korea free and independent. Although a lof of events led up to it, the Korean War began on June 25, 1950. Soon after, Seoul fell to NK forces but in September Seoul was retaken by allied forces. In October, China enters the war. Seoul seems to go back and forth. The Korean War in a sense is a Civil War between the 2 Koreas, but also a Proxy War between US and USSR. Along with the 2 Koreas, 23 other countries were involved! The war ended in 1953 with around 1.5 million deaths, 3 million injuries, 5 million people uprooted, families divided, many hostilities, and people longing for unity. One thing to look at with my students would be why is this war forgotten so often? As another teacher mentioned, giving the students primary sources is something they don't experience often. I would love to have my husband's grandfather's letters used as one of the sources and to ask students if they have any relatives who were in the war or have letters or stories from the war. With so many Americans involved in the war, it is sad to think that it is just forgotten when these people risked and gave up their lives. 

 

[Serece Tascione]

Minhwa folk art caught my interest when it was brought up in our discussion. Painting Minhwas began with court artists who reflected Korean life and spirits for the palaces. As societal changes occurred, so did Minhwa. Middle and lower class civilians began painting Minhwas that depicted common Korean daily life. Where Minhwas began with flowers, spirit animals like tigers and birds and symbols of longevity, more modern Minhwas show symbols of daily life that even include Western influences like the tea cup.

Minhwas are a great resource for students to analyze as they learn about the Korean culture. As a precursor to Korean studies, students can analyze and discuss the ideas portrayed in them. Then they can make hypotheses about Korean culture. The changes of times depicted in them will help students become aware of Korean culture and how it has changed over time. Once they have learned more about the culture, they can choose from common symbols or customs to paint their own Minhwa. 

[Tara Corral]

I really got a lot of information out of both the videos that were posted online as well as our class discussion. It was interesting to see the road that Korea took to become a divided country of North and South. I can understand how a country caught in the middle of bigger country wars was forced to make decisions so its own people could survive. I'm curious if the reason behind North Koreas strong military and eagerness to attack is a sort of PTSD from multiple countries waging war on its land. Does North Korea really believe that it's better off and safe if it's closed off from the rest of the world. I understand that reasoning and maybe the younger generations were just frustrated with their past. 

It was also great to learn about the art side of Korea during the Zoom Meeting. I believe I took Korean Art History Class in university but had found that most of their work was influenced by other countries. I am eager to learn more about the Minhwa Folk Art to find ways to incorporate that into my Visual Art class. 

[Lizbeth Vazquez-Ruiz]

I will definitely introduce K-pop related articles to my students, I know for sure they will be highly interested in the topic. I believe this topic will lead students into more serious conversations. I’m currently teaching 7th grade middle schoolers, some of my students have shared how they feel insecure about their sexuality or on how they feel different when they compare themselves to other students of the same gender. Gender standards differ between countries, my students will benefit from discussing these standards.

[Lizbeth Vazquez-Ruiz]

Introducing k-pop is a wonderful way to engage students in discussions. I can relate to this in my history class by providing students with the opportunity to apply concepts taught in class by researching a topic they enjoy. Students can write a research paper on different k-pop groups. They can choose from a variety of prompts, which can include concepts such as ethics and beauty standards. Students will explain the relationships among multiple scholarly works representing multiple perspectives, describing the connection to the student’s topic of inquiry.  Students can also include primary and secondary sources to support their argument. 

 

[Tara Corral]

I love this idea of looking into K-Pop and the culture of K-Pop and creating a research paper. When I was completing my Undergrad I took an English course that asked me to choose a music video and examine the message. I think you could do a comparison research paper where students can compare a K-Pop music video to American Music Artists. It could be a broad prompt where students can choose the comparison for their article such as Ethics, Beauty Standards, Music Statements and Pressure to name a few. It would be great option because if students aren't comfortable with K-Pop they can choose an artists they like as well. 

[Maria Cardenas]

I learend about comfort women and the Korean war when I studied abroad in Korea. I have been learning more about the topic since this summer when I took the USC seminar course about Two Koreas. I am not sure if I wasn't paying attention to Professor Jung's presentation or I missed it. But I was surprised to see that not only korean women were categorized as comfort women but you also had Dutch women. In the article it talks about how Dutch women were forced into prostitution and that some of the soldiers were punished but not all. 

https://www.awf.or.jp/e1/netherlands.html

This other article, "South Korea: Lawsuits against Japanese government last chance for justice fo 'comfort women'" states how it may be the last time for justice. Japan isn't acknowledging their past actions and the hurt that they brought to these comfort women. 

South Korea: Lawsuits against Japanese government last chance for justice for ‘comfort women’

[Serece Tascione]

Hi Maria, Thanks for shraing the article about the Dutch women. I find it interesting that 'TOP military offiiclals' realized the women became a part of the Comfort Women unwillingly. A Top person should be more on Top of things like this. How did they not realize  something like this before? The article does state that the Japanes requested a list of women, in itself that is leading down a path that supports inequality. The sequence of events in this matter make me question the word 'realized.' Since stations reopened after the officials acknowledged the wrong doings, I am led to believe they did know the whoel time. I am with you in recognizing that this needs to be rightfully acknowledged by Japan. 

[Serece Tascione]

Hi Brigid, I love this idea. I often incorporate music into my lessons or transitions. I hope to expose students to a larger variety of genres and bands than what they are listening to. I love your idea on how you use this to initiate a coversation on different cultures. This is a great way to help the students realize what we know about a culture collectively. It seems your students may have realized they knew more or had a stronger connection than they thought they did. I think it naturally leads to them wanting to discover more. With students bringing up atheletes from this conversation, it is apparent that this gives an opportunity for each indiviual in a class full of students with different interests to chime in. Thank you for sharing this idea. 

[Ester Yang]

It was very interesting to read about the popularity of korean radio drama before the invention of television. My parents would always tell me how radio was such an important invention back in the 20th century because that was their source of hearing about the outside news, especially during the Korean war of 1950. Families were locked inside and couldn't tell what was happening outsdie. Their only resource was the radio and it was also their own soure of entertainment. If there is a recording of a radio drama or the political news from the 20th century, I'd want to share that with my students and have a class discussion on what they think.    

[Tara Corral]

Hi Cynthia, 

I like the question that you posed in your second paragraph about the US pulling out of Korea during these protest. I think thats really interesting that you posed it as the US being uncomfortable with state sanctioned violence but I believe it may have been the opposite. I think its because the US was experience similar events in the states where the population was beginning to disagree with the violence and side with protestors that the US backed out. I think they saw a similar situation where in they knew they could not win against the mass of people and they backed out when it was safe to do so. I'm not sure but it seems more accurate to not lose be humiliated on two fronts 

[Tara Corral]

I like the concepts that Brigid and yourself, Katherine, bring up about Christianity/Catholicism in Asian Countries. I am curious maybe about having students reflect on the differences between how these religions play a role in Asian households to American households. I wonder if women here experience the same feeling or feel that their religion is just as an opening experience. I question because I know that the roles can change here and actually keep more women locked away. 

[Tara Corral]

I was reading Brigids response about comfort women and how both countries did not want to acknowledge the events because of the same it had brought on to them. Now it was mentioned that we are still fighting for women's rights and thats a point i would like to get back too. Maria and Serece continue to talk about it and I'm curious how Dutch women were incorporated into it as well. What i am caught on is why rape, and brothels seems to shameful to admit too while other acts of war is easier to admit. I think that should explain the thoughts of most of the people who participated and knew about it. They don't see a problem and are ashamed that they need to say it is wrong. I don't know but it rubs me the wrong way to know that this they struggle with admitting and taking credit for.

 

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