[Juana Evink]

Hi Jasmine,

I found your response to plastic surgery interesting.  I agree it seems that it's more prevalent in the U.S., although it seems that it's increasing in Asian countries. I personally don't care for pastic surgery, but I can imagine why some women feel pressured to do it, My little sister is obsessed with her looks, and it's currently waiting for an appoinmnet for a body sculting procedure. In her case, it's for herself, not for outside pressure. For plastic surgey doctors it's a lucrative bussiness to be in.

[Juana Evink]

In the article by Robin Wright, " The Trump-Kim summit," discussed the first meeting between the two world leaders. Trump is full of contradictions and  nothing really was achieve from this summit. I find it diffciult to take Trump seriously when a few months before the summit he was threating North Korea witgh "fire and fure," then he is complimenting Kim.  Wright mentions trhat in the meeting he agreed  to cancel regular schedule military exercises that had helped keep South Korea safe, he seems to not have a clue on the consequences of his actions.  In repeated occasion he has shown what seems like admiration for the North Korea's leader, even invited him to the White House. At least as mentioned in the article, he wants Nortn Korea to give up their nuclear weapons.

[Juana Evink]

The reading by Andrei Lankov, " Ch2  Two Decades of Crisis" makes it clear that North Korea's early economic success was due to the support from the Soviet Unuion and once that stoped when Gorbachev became the new secretary of the Communist party. It's impressive how North Korea's communism still standing today since compared to other countries it didn't collapse or reform itself. Without foreign economic aid North Korea's economic system suffered terribly. Yet, North Korea still a communist country, with soem alllies arounf the world. It's a different society that the one under KIm II Sung, but the Korean leader is still loved or at least feared by its people.

[Juana Evink]

As I read the article by Kwong and  Chung, "North Korea's Partisan Family State," I was surprised to learn of the impressive economic and ploitican success that NK experienced right after the Korean War. The first deccade or so was pretty good for most Koreans, they loved their leader KIng II Sung, took extreme pride in the ir labour,  and national pride. It seems that North Korea staretd great, but a couple of decades later things started to decline. Today North Korea doens't seem to experiecne the same level of economic success they once did. Specially now duiring he pamdemic, I'm afraif things are not great in North Korea. 

[Juana Evink]

As I read the article by Kwong and  Chung, "North Korea's Partisan Family State," I was surprised to learn of the impressive economic and ploitican success that NK experienced right after the Korean War. The first deccade or so was pretty good for most Koreans, they loved their leader KIng II Sung, took extreme pride in the ir labour,  and national pride. It seems that North Korea staretd great, but a couple of decades later things started to decline. Today North Korea doens't seem to experiecne the same level of economic success they once did. Specially now duiring he pamdemic, I'm afraif things are not great in North Korea. 

[Juana Evink]

In the article by Ginson, "South Korea's Elderly Face Unique Challenges from COVID-19," describes that hardships faced by the elderly. He discussed tht South Korea already had a large elderly population living in poverty, and COVID-19 has just made the situation worst. All over the world the elderly are experiencing  more harships due to their age as well as the limited opportunities to make a living during this difficult time. Gibson mentions that the government has cut many programms that were intended to help the elderly, and the few opprotunities availabe in the tech world, don't benefit them since most aren't comforatble with modern technology. He recommends that the elderly population's needs be kept in mind as South Korea moves towards recovery.

[Juana Evink]

Crossing Boundaries in East ASia, has been one of the most interesting seminars I have participated since 2015. I enjoyed the broad range of topics and periods. I teach 6th grade Social Studies, and in the unit on Ancient China I teach about the Silk Road and the spread of Buddhism. Crossing Boundaries, provided some great resources on the Silk road and Buddhism. It was difficult to choose from the variety of resources available through his seminar.

For the curriculum project, I decided to concentrate on the Silk Road's role in spreading Buddhism across East Asia. Also, on comparing the rise of Buddhism in Ancient India and  Ancient China. Students like learning about the Silk Road, but I also wanted them to think of the many things that were spread besides goods. Most students don’t have knowledge  of East Asia, except maybe for China and Japan from movies they have seen, but they don’t know the rich and long cultural history of Asian cultures.

Crossing Boundaries was an excellent opportunity to expand my knowledge of East Asia. The lectures and discussions by the many amazing professors like professor Dube, Young-KIm, and Meeks were truly great. I learned alot from them, I just wish the standards didn't limit  what I can teach students about East Asia, to just Ancient China. This concept  of crossing boundaries as well as that the world is interconnected, it has always been and still is. I’m excited to teach the lessons I created for this seminar and to continue to expand my students’ knowledge of Asia.

I particularly enjoyed how this seminar dealt with many different topics, and the common theme was crossing boundaries. Asia and Europe have been crossing boundaries for hundreds of years, the Silk Road is just another example.

 

[Juana Evink]

Crossing Boundaries in East ASia, has been one of the most interesting seminars I have participated since 2015. I enjoyed the broad range of topics and periods. I teach 6th grade Social Studies, and in the unit on Ancient China I teach about the Silk Road and the spread of Buddhism. Crossing Boundaries, provided some great resources on the Silk road and Buddhism. It was difficult to choose from the variety of resources available through his seminar.

For the curriculum project, I decided to concentrate on the Silk Road's role in spreading Buddhism across East Asia. Also, on comparing the rise of Buddhism in Ancient India and  Ancient China. Students like learning about the Silk Road, but I also wanted them to think of the many things that were spread besides goods. Most students don’t have knowledge  of East Asia, except maybe for China and Japan from movies they have seen, but they don’t know the rich and long cultural history of Asian cultures.

Crossing Boundaries was an excellent opportunity to expand my knowledge of East Asia. The lectures and discussions by the many amazing professors like professor Dube, Young-KIm, and Meeks were truly great. I learned alot from them, I just wish the standards didn't limit  what I can teach students about East Asia, to just Ancient China. This concept  of crossing boundaries as well as that the world is interconnected, it has always been and still is. I’m excited to teach the lessons I created for this seminar and to continue to expand my students’ knowledge of Asia.

I particularly enjoyed how this seminar dealt with many different topics, and the common theme was crossing boundaries. Asia and Europe have been crossing boundaries for hundreds of years, the Silk Road is just another example.

 

[Juana Evink]

Two Koreas-Final Essay

 

I truly enjoyed and learned alot about the two Koreas, their shared history and differences. The resources shared in the seminar and the lectures given by professor Jennifer Jung-Kim were extremely informative and helpful to understand the two Koreas.

Besides the great lectures, I enjoyed completing the assignment of reviewing a Korean film, the “Ode to my Father,” is truly inspirational and it included historical facts. This film doesn’t apply for my 6th grade social studies class, it’s more age appropriate for High school students. The film’s story portrays the devastation of war and the separation of families, yet it has a positive message of loyalty to one’s father and family.

For the curriculum project requirement, I choose to compare and contrast China and Korea’s geography and government leaders. It was a challenging process since the California Content standards doesn’t mention Korea at all, just Ancient China. Yet, that wasn’t enough reason to not try and share some of the great resources I got from the seminar with my students. In my opinion, Asian civilization and now countries have permanent and unbreakable ties to each other. One resource that I would have liked to use with my students are parts of the video lectures by Professor Kim, however I wasn’t able to download them.

By having my students compare the geography of China and Korea, I hope that they will think about how its proximity to each other has made them both enemies and allies throughout history. I want them to use their critical thinking skills every time they read a textbook or a primary source. Also, to understand that understanding a country’s geography can help explain their history in some ways. I hope to inspire my students to want to learn about other cultures and be open minded about our shared differences and similarities.

 

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[Juana Evink]

The video lectures as well as the class discussion on  western classcal music was very interesting. One idea that resonated with me was that China absorbs what it's beautiful from western culture and makes it better. I learned alot about how western music was first introduce to China by Catholic missionaries as early as the 13th century. China was open to western music, because it's part of their culture that the arts create better citizens, even as far back as Confucius where government officials had to write poetry to get a job.

It's impressive how much cultural value is placed on classical music in China, as mentioned in the readings Chinese parents as well as Americans believe it's a necessary skill to be admitted to  higher education institutions. The idea that the Chinese government supports the spread of western classical music to help improve China's culture and make it more sophisticated.  They built the Shanghai Music Conservatory and music schools. I was glad to hear thet classcial music still strong in China since it  was forbidden during the Cultural Revolution. I like to listen to classical music when I'm stressed, t's relaxing.

[Juana Evink]

Professor Gladney goes in detail regarding China the Uyghur and the spread of radical Islam in the first reading and on the different Muslims minorities in living in China. I found it interesting and scary how China is sending its citizens to "re-eduation camps," due to fear of Chinese islamophobia and the rise of ISIS in the Middle East.I learned that the largest Muslim minority are the Hui and the Ugyhur are the ones who want a separate state and  are more prone to radical Islam  ideas. As minority they want more religious autonomy, and free practice of religion.

In the second reading he warns China of the dangers of failing to accomodate Muslim minorities can lead to national dismemberment and international intevention like it did in Africa. He states that Muslims oin China whether Ugyhur or Hui, are Muslims first and Chinese citizrns lasts. This could be part of the reason why the Chinese government is concerned abput the spread of radical Islam and sent poeple to "re-education" camps. Either way Chinese Muslims deserve to live in peace and practice their religion freely.

[Juana Evink]

I found the videos by Professor Gladney, interesting in regards to the many miniorities and Muslim population in China. I was aware that there was a small Muslim population as well as Christians in China, but never really thought about the social and cultural tensions between Chinese Muslims anf the government. He mentions that the Hui are Chinese speaking Muslims, and must learn Arabic or Perisan to learn the Quran. They have lived in China for centuries, dating back to the Silk road era. I founded it interested how the U.S. has being involved in the Uyghur human rights, and  the problems that Anti-Islam detention camps have caused. Also, how the Silk Road is considered the begining of civilization, and that a chinese explorer discover what is now Amerca in 1421. The Silk Road crossed many boundaries and the new version is set to do the same thing, by opening trade routes with many countries and China.

In the second part of the video, he discussed in more detail the Belt and Road Initiative, which involves milions of dollars in new projects in 100 countries. He aslo mentions how this initiative has cased number of problems like enviromental, economic, lack of transparencey, and potental for corruption. One idea that resonated wth me is that as teachers we should try to built bridges and not wall. I think it's important to help our students to develop critical thinking skills as well as open mind towards other cultures.

[Juana Evink]

All the readings for this sesssion can be great resources for a lesson on Buddhism for Middle Schoolers, yet they will need to be shorten and modified specially for English learners. The history textbook doens't do a great job on the the origins and spread of Buddhism, it's short and mostly superficial. I found this reading to be particularly useful in introducing vocabulary and informaton of the origins and spread of Buddhism to my students. I will have to modify it nad only use parts of the reading, it's too long for my 6th graders. I like how this reading mentions that Buddhism teaches love, compassion, and promotes nonviolence, I think my students would like that.  One idea that can help explain why Buddhism was able to spread from India to East Asia, in a few centuries and eventually even to California by the 19th century is that it accomodates to religious traditions of the cultures it encounters, it doesn't force people to accept its teachings. Also, it one of the few religions that mentions the importance of women in the spread if the religion. In the reading it mentions that it was the Buddha's step mother who encouraged him to let women seek nirvana by renouncing the world and becoming nuns.

The other readings mentions how Buddhism faced some challenges in being accepted in Japan, Korea, and China.It had to adapt to the religuious traditions of the country, respect their old ways. Eventually Buddhism gain acceptance in this places and continue spreading around the world.

[Juana Evink]

I known about the origins of Buddhism since college, but it's nice to review it. I always being fascinated about how Gautama Siddhartha became the buddha, left his wife and infant son to search for enlightenment. The spread of Buddhism took centuries, but it eventually arrived in Asia, each country adapted it to their culture and religions. In the video Professor Meeks provide  alot of great and interesting information about Buddha, Buddhism, and Mahayana Buddhism.   According to the video lecture and the readings the spread of Buddhism in East Asia had some overlaps as well as differences.

I found intesrested how in one of the readings it mentions how women had palyed an important role in the spread of Buddhism. The BUddha order monks and nuns including female relatives. Professor Meeks mentioned that some nuns were autoritative teachers of Buddhism, and there are some strong nun orders in Korea and Taiwan. Other lay women had also helped spread Buddhism practices, but it's still mostly men who are the main Buddhist representatives. I'm glad Professor Meeks, also clarify that Buddhidm is a religion, not just a philosophy.

[Juana Evink]

The readings for today, discussed soft power what it is and what Hallyu encompass. In the reading by Nye and Kim, they mentioned that soft power is attracting  people to make them want what you want, not by force or economic power. Soft power, to me is the spread of Korean culture around the world through K-pop, dramas, and more. They state that soft power has three mian aspects like attractive culture, political values, and foreign policies. Also, how Koreans should take advantage of soft power around the worls. This idea of soft power might be a little difficult for younger students to understand, but not impossible.

 

In the second reading, Hallyu versus Hally-hwa, the author tries to explain what it is. It seems to me that Hallyu is anything that represents Korean culture like music, dramas, food, and language. One thing that I found interesting, is that K-pop and dramas have definitely motivated fans around the wolrd to learn more about Korea like the language. I'm not clear what the main difference is between Hallyu and Hally-hwa is, so if anyone knows, please let me know. I will read it again.

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