Session 4 - Jennifer Jung-Kim, 10/1

[Lindsay Reiss]

It is very interesting to learn the size of Korea and how densely populated it is. Also, the history of Korea was very interesting to me. I enjoyed Jennifer's lecture about the different empires and stages of unity Korea has seen. Additionally, I learned that Korea is a destination for skincare and advanced plastic surgery. I have tried a couple Korean skin care products and I recall that one of them was made with slug slime! The skin care routine recommended was quite lengthy!

[Lindsay Reiss]

The 98% literacy rate was something that caught my attention too! Although we talked about this in class, I still wonder how they are able to achieve this. I also wonder how this affects later employment and overall achievement.

[Kim Leng]

 

In "Top Ten Things to Know about Korea in the 21st Century," by Edward J. Shultz, I learned some interesting things about Korea in just four pages! I think this would be a great way for students to research and present their country research project.  A list of top 10 things, but I would have them include images and a works cited page.

Prior to reading this article, I did not know that “Korean is the twelfth most commonly used language in the world” (p. 7) or that Koreans are such nature lovers!  I learned about the Diamond Mountains in this article and looked up images of the mountains.  It really is breathtaking!  If I ever make my way to Korea one day, I definitely want to do a hike on Diamond Mountains.  I did know that Koreans are experts in ceramics because of the book, A Single Shard, by Linda Sue Park. I read the historial novel so many years ago and I enjoyed the book! 

[Sophia Kang]

A common theme that runs in both short stories--"Flowers of Fire" and "Cranes"--and Robinson's Odyssey, is the confusion and helplessness of the people that lived in Korea during these times. In Cranes, although the two childhood friends share a common memory, they are thrust to different groups as a random line intrudes on their friendship and survival. Similarly, in "Flowers of Fire," the protagonist is found moving back and forth between whichever oppressor occupies the land and survives by luck and skill. As my grandmother says when I ask her where she was during this 38th parallel divide, "I was just running to the port because they told me to." The fragmented and memories and innocent determination for survival is a common theme. A question I still have is, if Korea as a country was doing well as a unified civilazation before the occupation of various foreign powers, what could have caused Korea to form polar groups that turned against each other? The suggestion that Russia influenced Kim Ilsung and caused the divide seems too simplistic of an explanation. 

[Sophia Kang]

The changing collective memory, to expand off of what you are saying, is something that interests me as well--the notion of younger generations eventually forgetting this collective memory that once united everyone. As my grandma was listening to a song that was sung during these times, she said that it is different when you hear these types of songs sung by a young person because it doesn't carry the same emotional helplessness that it did when it was sung at the time. I would like to ask my students, how does collective memory change over time as the victims pass away?

[Kim Leng]

South Korea sounds like a magical land to visit. If you want to go to South Korea after reading “Top Ten Things to Know about Korea in the 21st Century," seeing images on this article will probably inspire you to book a ticket this summer: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/south-korea-beautiful-places/index.html.  Boseong Green Tea Field looks so breathtaking that I can’t imagine what the experience would be like to stand there and take in the view.  I learned from the article that the Boseaong region produces over 40% of Korea's tea!

As for measures South Koreans are taking to help preserve the environment, I found this article about green energy: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/05/09/Korea-s-Global-Commitment-to-Green-Growth. The articled mentioned that Korea wants to reduce "its greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020."  As 2020 is just around the corner, it might be interesting to look for more articles to get an update on this issue.

[Lindsay Reiss]

I didn't know that North and South Korea wanted to reunite until Dr. Jung-Kim said so. I too wonder if there will be an "end" to the division in our lifetime. I also teach elementary so much of this is not something that would necessarily be of interest to my students and they might not understand. It is and has been very complicated but also relevant to current events.

[Kathryn Sutherland]

One thing that has really stuck with me since this session has been the idea of the Korean Wave, the uptick of popularity in South Korean culture around the globe.  To me, this is brilliant.  Global power--soft power, but power nonetheless-- can be attained by influencing pop culture, food, language, television, music, cosmetics, fashion, tourism, etc.  I didn't know that this phenomon was something that was necessarily planned or executed by the Korean government--I just thought that as the world got smaller, people identified k pop, kimchi, and korean soap operas as things that they liked.  But it makes sense to be strategic about this influence.  And the Korean Wave is definitely a real phenomenon.  My boyfriend's aunt is a huge fan of Korean dramas, and has even started to pick up the language because she watches them so much.  Brilliant.  A woman who probably would have never learned Korean is now showing off by speaking her favorite korean words and sayings to her friends!  

[Reynaldo Mangabat]

I always use a strategy of debating between a linear pattern of history according to St Agustine and circular pattern of of RG Collingwood. Linear because from the begining of time everything is predestined and circullar because history repeats itself. My students will choose a position between history as linear or circular in development. They will argue their side citing examples and in the end you can introduce another pattern which is spiralby Giambattista Vico. Semblance of thins in history does not mean they are really being repeated but its developing, people are learning so its should be growing and developing to a better change.

[Reynaldo Mangabat]

KPop is a musical genre consisting of electronic, hip hop, pop, rock, and R&B music originating in South Korea.  Korean pop musicians incorporated partially Europop and mostly American popular music styles such as hip hop, rock, jazz, and electronic dance in their music. In 1992 the emergence of Seo Taiji & Boys marked a revolutionary moment in the history of K-pop. I think the malagamation of Europop and American Pop music, the colorful clothes and the color theory, thir story telling and personality and fashiod is making it a great hit worldwide. How that is hooking the whole world will remain a history.

[Author]

Posts