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Tom MuellerI also was fascinated by this article. Thank you for some of your suggestions on discussion including having students discuss values, studying abroad, and social life differences, etc. When Bao discussed not going to dinner, I thought of my days as a graduate student and my friends who had real jobs asking me to go to dinner. (It was like the classic - I think it was Friends) After examining the menu, the waiter asked me what I wanted and I said I will have the side salad and water…LOL. I was thinking of asking students to write down their expenses over a month (they would not share it with classmates). Then I would have them read this article and ask them to write a reflective essay.
Tom MuellerExcellent points. I was unaware of the Japanese diaspora in Peru and I think my students would also be surprised. Food is so universal and I think helps students understand cultural exchanges. This article is a perfect example of relocation diffusion - the spread of culture by the movement of people. I use religion a lot as an example, but I think using food might be nice change. I also thought it was interesting about the topic of fusion. ‘Oh, it’s a fusion,’” she laments. “It’s not a fusion. The Japanese families that went to Peru centuries ago, the people born there—they consider themselves Peruvian.” I think I could have a discussion with my students on this topic of fusion.
Tom MuellerVery good points. Asia and the New World article would be great for my Intro to Geography class (taught as World Geography). I was thinking of taking this article and creating an interactive map of the locations in this article. Students could track the goods from their location as they were shipped. I think it is important for students to not only understand this trade but the vastness of the trade. Also good point about American artists copying styles. I think it might also be a good discussion of cultural exchanges, etc.
Tom MuellerYour comment on fair compensation really peaked my interest especially after Dr. Jung-Kim's presentation. I think it would be interesting to compare the compensation of K - pop stars and boy (and girl) American stars of the 90s in this country and also comparing to other music acts back in the 1950s, etc. Are there similarities between K – pop and American pop bands? We have seen in this country bands fight for their musical publishing rights, etc. I did a quick search and found that many K – pop stars may not right their own music but some do produce it. Companies in South Korea do not seem to want their artists to write their music. It reminds me of The Monkees. They sang other people’s songs on their TV show even though a couple of members did write songs.
Tom MuellerHeather thank you for your post. I never heard of the Soft Power index before Dr. Jung-Kim’s lecture. Then when I read your post, I also wondered if there were changes to the United States’ soft power. https://softpower30.com/
It looks like we had an increase from 2017-18 then a drop in 2019. https://softpower30.com/country/united-states/?country_years=2017,2018,2019
We still have high numbers in Education and Culture. Of course the recent moves (and thankfully backtracking) of our governments banning all international students if colleges go online might impact this score next year, especially with the bans of Chinese students with connections to government and military. The researchers said that our current Administration “….has demonstrated little interest in soft power, multilateralism, or solving the major challenges facing the world”
I am going to add this index into my World Geography class.
Tom MuellerJiaxing thank you for the resources. These are great examples of soft power. It seems China has learned a little from South Korea about pushing soft power through music, etc. I also like that Chinese kids could still find K – pop if they wanted – similar to Jurassic Park (Life will find a way) – kids will find a way. As I was reading the article, I thought how crazy is it that music brings us together, but governments can make it divide us (the banning of K – pop in China), etc. Then when you watch the video and listen to the Chinese talk about K – pop, it helps understand the appeal of K – pop. They might not understand the lyrics, but they like the sound of it. Of course one of the kids said they started to learn some Korean words to understand the songs. Finally I wondered if some US Governors would start making it difficult for BTS and others to perform in the United States after they helped “inflate” the number of the Tulsa rally.
Tom MuellerThe videos and the readings were very informative. I am not a K – pop fan, however I do know my students are aware of it and some are huge fans. I think integrating K – pop can serve two purposes. The first way is to discuss connecting the United States and South Korea. During the current presidential administration, I have seen some of my students more about focusing on “America only” and other countries are the “bad” others. What are these countries doing to us, etc.? They see the countries not as people but as their governments – trade imbalances – dumping steel, etc. By bringing in K – pop students will hopefully “see” the Korean people and discuss the similarities in music. It also takes the edge off some serious issues (discussed earlier). Sometimes my class feels like a doom and gloom class – Nuclear Weapons in India and Pakistan, Conflict Minerals in Democratic Republic of the Congo, etc. Then we can spin into more serious discussion of K – pop. By using the article in The Conversation to discuss music and the socio-political aspects of the music. I want to examine the story on “white-wash of K-pop”, the K – pop “based on black music” connections and the political messages and funding by K – pop for the Black Lives Movement, etc. I could then bring up the issue of Elvis. I remember reading an article – where some Black Americans revered Elvis for “bringing Black music to the whites” while others felt he was a crook, etc. This is important because sometimes my students are more than willing to discuss issues in other countries (more than in our country) even if there are similar issues. So if I brought up K – pop and we had these discussions, it might be easier to then shift the discussion to our country’s issues. It would also show the students that there similarities between different countries and cultures – fighting / dealing with socio-political issues.
Tom MuellerThank you so much for the allowing me to participate in this workshop. I know it is mainly for K – 12 teachers. My favorite course to teach is Introduction to Geography. The course is taught as a World Regional Geography course, in which students learn the basics of geography by examining different regions of the Earth. My two major goals for this course are increasing students’ spatial awareness and having them become more informed global citizens. In the East Asia part of this course, I have slowly expanded our discussion on Korea throughout the years. We first begin with a discussion of the Korean War, then we discuss complementarity of the Korean peninsula and finally we discuss the North Korean issue. With the information from this workshop, I can expand current topics and include topics on post Korean War, specifically the changing South Korea political landscape and the heredity monarchy of the Kim family. When we examine the changing political landscape of South Korea, we can discuss the reasoning for the changes and specifically the United States’ non role. It will give another example to the students how the Cold War was a chess game not necessarily about democracy but anti-communism.
I am going to work on 2 specific lessons for my class (to be submitted later). The first will be a one day (50 minute) interactive map and discussion of the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The students will learn about the Sunshine Policy of South Korea and will highlight the Industrial Complex. Students will examine a map that illustrates the movement of goods from Kaesong. The next lesson will be a 2 day film and cultural discussion. Students will learn and discuss Godzilla and its underlining meanings and then we will discuss other monster movies. The students will then watch part of Pulgassari. The students will discuss cultural connections between themselves, North Koreans and monster movies. Then they will learn about the behind the scenes of the director, etc.
Tom MuellerMy favorite course to teach is Introduction to Geography. The course is taught as a World Regional Geography course, in which students learn the basics of geography by examining different regions of the Earth. My two major goals for this course are increasing students’ spatial awareness and having them become more informed global citizens. Unfortunately now we see some people who profess that we only need to focus on “our country”. I believe that door closed a long time ago and that is a good thing. We have been crossing borders to fight wars, to grow our economy and to exchange cultural ideas. They key is not just about crossing the borders, but crossing them with respect and understanding. This is important in business – for example – I remember stories about Chrysler blaming tariffs as the reason they could not sell cars in a particular country until it was pointed out that they had the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car (for that particular country). Crossing borders is also important in our foreign policy. After the understanding and respect then we need to “see” the world from their eyes. We may not agree with it, but it will help us build relationships, etc. Finally when we cross borders we need to see people – not governments. I think we made steps to peace, etc when we saw the Soviets as people and not as the evil empire. Just my two cents.
Tom MuellerHello I am Tom Mueller. I am a geography professor at a small university near Pittsburgh, PA. I teach courses in world geography, demographic analysis and geo-spatial technology (computer mapping, etc.). I have been teaching since 1999. My favorite course is my World Geography class.
Tom MuellerThank you for the resource.
Tom MuellerThank you. Yes, Klinger stayed in Korea to help his new wife assist her in finding their parents. She was split up from them at a refugee camp, I think.
Tom MuellerExcellent points. I think that is why we need more cultural exchanges. I am thinking about my possible curriculum idea for this workshop by using Pulgasari, the Godzilla type movie. I would love to hear any comments or suggestions. So I would have my students watch Pulgasari, the only introduction I would give is that it is a North Korean film. I would also ask them to watch preview of old Godzilla movies, etc. After watching the movie, students would write up a review of the movie and we would discuss it. I personally think it is a fun movie, nothing more and it was not going to win any Oscars (just like my old Godzilla movies). After our discussion, I would then present them with how the movie was created. I would discuss the director Shin Sang-ok, his kidnapping, etc. I am hoping this could lead a discussion to the oppressive regime in North Korea. Then I would discuss the similarities between Pulgasari and other monster movie, Godzilla, etc. I am hoping this could lead to a discussion on similarities between us and North Koreans – the love of monster movies.
I only use Wikipedia to find sources and the one on Pulgasari would be helpful.
Tom MuellerI am so sorry Kimberly. I actually fell into the same problem but with a more "neutral" documentary. In the PBS documentary, Secret State, one of the scenes shows the narrator asking North Korean children who they "are killing" in a video game, the kid said Americans. (I think that is the scene). My students immediately latched on to that scene and that is what they wanted to focus on. In fact, I finally got them off of it, by asking what things did they believe or want when they were 10 or 11. I told them that when I was that age, I wanted to find a horse and The Man with No Name (Fistful of Dollars - Clint Eastwood) and ride off into the sunset. It was silly, but I grew up on westerns. Think about what these kids grew up on? The next time I showed the video, I told the students about the scene before they watched it, but asked them to focus on one other scene and be ready to discuss it in class. It helped a little bit. However I think maybe supplementing the documentary with more personal stories from North Korea, etc. would be better for me.
Tom MuellerMeghann - that is great thought..."small moments of seeing the humanity in others can overcome deeply entrenched ideologies."
This is one of my hopes when I teach the World Geography course. I know that some of us get caught up in media representation and / or Hollywood representation. However when we start to see others as human beings, then we can get past those representations. When we can hear their stories, maybe we can better understand their lives and experiences. We do not have to agree with them, but “seeing” things from their point of view maybe we get a better understanding of them. I think the “Hollywoodized” movies are important, because for me I am learning something without realizing I am learning. Maybe my “defenses” are lower when watching movies, etc.
