Session 9 - Korean Cultural Center

[Midori Sanchez]

The Korean Cultural Center was an opportunity to not only understand more about the Korean culture to bring back to our classes, such as learning about the Korean writing system and plastic surgery, but also to see what opportunities are available to schools and the community. I thought it was amazing that they have someone read children's stories in Korean and have arts and crafts for young children to either be in touch with their own culture, or be exposed to another culture. There are also musical performances with traditional Korean instruments that may be of interest to my students to attend. I also thought that seeing the BTS and other KPOP cut-outs as well as Korean animated show figures and technology to explore more helped to allow the students to have a mixture of "lecture" and self-exploration; I could see something for all of my students to be focusing on.

 

My goal is to speak to my Female Leadership Academy head and discuss integrating more opportunities for Asian American students and/or those interested in learning about other cultures. Living in Long Beach means that we would be able to make that trip there and visit a place they may not see otherwise.

[Donna Jamshidnejad]

The Korean Cultural Center seemed to be pushing a message for us to travel to Korea. The focus was on the beautiful sites and culture of Korea. I have to say that it worked! I hadn't ever considered traveling to South Korea, but now I am putting it on my bucket lists of places to see. 

[Gerlinde Goschi]

I enjoyed our visit to the Korean Cultural Center.  Our docent was very kind and knowledgeable. It is a well known fact that Seoul is a very popular spot for plastic surgery.  Our docent mentioned it as well. I couldn’t help but think of Prof. Robin R. Wang’s lecture and her article “Ideal Womanhood in Chinese Thought and Tradition”  and what the ideal Confucian woman would think about it? I think this would be interesting to compare in a class discussion. It would be just a general discussion about how different is it?  

 

[Gerlinde Goschi]

I was surprised to learn that the Korean Cultural Center supports field trips by giving a stipend to classes to come visit.  This is a great opportunity for my class as well as my school because it seems there are not enough funds for field trips and the cost of them are so high that teams of teachers at my school have come up with creative ideas to make them happen.  One year, instead of taking a bus, we walked to the metro station and took the metro to our destination. I am excited to propose this field trip to the administration team at my school.

 

[Ann Huyhn]

The Korean Cultural Center is a fun way to introduce students to South Korea.  The museum offers many ways to interact with Korean culture. One can learn the Korean language for a really good deal and participate in Korean cultural activities that are offered monthly.  The museum housed the history of South Korea, but the most exciting place is the virtual reality stations and the opportunity to take pictures with current Korean pop idols. My students will find this place interesting because they can play games, listen to music, and look at cute trinkets from South Korea.  It would be a great field trip to whet their curiosity.

[Nelson Ta]

I may be in the minority, but I actually did not enjoy the Korean Cultural Center. I found many of their presentation pieces to be outdated. I also felt that parts of the presentation felt more like a propaganda piece rather than a cultural center. To be fair, it is run by the tourism department, so I get that their job is to promote the visitation of South Korea. In terms of education, there could have been more. It seemed a bit lacking. However, I would invite students to go visit the center since there are many students that are interested in South Korean culture. 

[Nelson Ta]

I agree with you, Donna. There were definitely pushing for people to travel to South Korea. I've been to South Korea and it was an enjoyable experience, but I wish I had some type of guide with me. While the landmarks were easy to navigate to, it was difficult to figure out where to at night. However, I would go back to South Korea in the future. 

[Joel Jimenez]

I have been to the Korean Culture Center before so this was the second time that I visited the center.  It's a fabulous place to learn about Korean culture, both historical and contemporary.  It was especially interesting getting an insight into K-Beauty and K-Beauty products.  I was not aware that South Korea has become the new Silicon valley, and that behind the United States, plastic surgery is biggest in S. korea.  It is not just a phenomenon that is sweeping through S. Korea, but it has become ingrained as part of the culture.

What I also appreciated and liked was all the travel information that the center had regarding visiting S. Korea.  I especially liked the information on Jeju island.  I was not aware that one could drive around the entire island.

[Joel Jimenez]

I agree that some of the presentation material was outdated and should be updated.  I actually did the week long seminar on Korean Culture in the KCC in June and the material that they presented there was much more robust and engaging, they even had new videos on K-pop that were really good, it seemed like they just gave us a really quick overview.  It's hard to really grasp the culture over a two hour period.

[Joel Jimenez]

I also agree that the KCC can be a fun way to introduce students to South Korea.  I think they would have a blast trying on traditional Hanbock and playing the drums and trying Korean Food!  I took my students to Little Tokyo last year and they really enjoyed the visit, checking out the Japanese stores, and trying Japanese treats.  I think they could really benefit from a similar visit to the KCC and Koreatown!

[Nelson Ta]

As we saw and heard with the questions give up by peers, it is impossible for people to separate the two Koreas. With North Korea constantly in the news and President Trump antagonize the Asian countries, people will always have questions and develop their own perceptions about Korea. I would love to bring my students to the Cultural Center to help to learn the differences between the two very distinct countries. 

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