Curious to know what the attendees thought of the seminar? Here are some of the responses from the 2017 National Korean Studies Seminar attendees in regards to their experience of the 5-day seminar. Thank you to all the teachers that provided feedback!
Monday:
About Mary Connor’s lecture on “What Americans Should Know about Korea” – What a wonderful overview! Mary’s passion and dedication was clear. I will use so many of the details in conversations with the many people who ask me questions about Korea.
Mary Connor shared her connection to Korea and she is a testament to why diversity and cultural studies can enrich lives and be an asset in our education system.
About the International Foundation of Korea University presentation – I will promote this program heavily! I had no idea such program existed and the presentation itself was not a dry-presentation of an academic program; it was easily more fun than any presentation of its type ever. Mr. Yi is an excellent presenter. I will be sharing this link with the Chicago Korean Language group and the Metro Detroit Korean Group.
About Dr. Dong Suk Kim’s segment – the drumming lesson was interactive. I appreciate Professor Dong Suk Kim.
On the Pansori lecture – The Pansori lecture should have more visual aids, but the speaker did a pretty good job explaining as he went along.
The first day as a whole was very impressive with so many dignitaries of South Korea attending to say their congratulatory remarks for the staff and the attendees.
Tuesday:
NKS Publication and PowerPoint lectures and lessons by Mary Connor – having an e-book reinforces this concept that knowledge is collective. I have yet to look at all the resources comprehensively, but I am sure I will find something I can use.
About Meher McArthur’s lecture on the art and architecture of Korea – Of all the presentations so far, this was the most cohesive. There was a fully formed narrative. I knew very little about Korean art, so this lecture was fascinating.
The Hanbok Show was so fun! It was great getting a chance to try on the traditional Korean dress, and I also learned that there may be a lot of chances to try on Korean traditional dress but not the kinds that were provided here, because they are of different styles of Korean traditional dress, which is a great honor!
Kee Soon Sung’s presentation and the hands-on activity about the Korean Folk Art was impressive. Since I am an art teacher, this was definitely applicable to my teaching and to my students. I look forward to sharing with my students what I learned in this lecture.
It was helpful to learn about the Korea University’s study abroad program. I am glad NKS also invited a speaker like him so that I have access to outside resources.
Wednesday:
Lecture on 19th and early 20th century Korean history by Dr. Namlee Lee – I had expected Dr. Lee to focus on the same aspects of modern Korean history that others usually do. But she went into aspects that I did not know before, that were unusual and enlightening material. I am inspired to learn more. I often discuss modern Korean history in my classes. Now, I will be able to answer more of my students’ questions.
Lecture on Korean philosophy, religion, and Christianity by Tom Tran – This I thought was one of the best presentations. I appreciated the fact that Dr. Tran did not read from his slides. He sounded very thorough and interesting. I go to a lot of Korean studies events and I rarely get to hear anything about Korean religion. I teach intercultural communication, so this information will easily be integrated into my classes.
About Ken Petersen’s NEWL exam implementation lecture – Since I don’t teach K-12 this information wasn’t as helpful to me, but I will tell others about this exam because a lot of moms contact me about Korean language classes and instruction for their children. I think this was a terrific presentation; great for high school educators.
Dr. Sung Ock Sohn’s lecture on the Korean everyday language was a fun lecture. Since I have a few Korean students in my school, it would be helpful to know these basic phrases so that I can build a good rapport with the students and their parents.
Dr. Lucy Park’s lecture on Sijo was very interesting and memorable. Since I teach literature, it would be good to introduce Sijo along with Haiku, which more students may be familiar with.
Thursday:
Lecture by Sherri Ter Molen on the History of the Korean Wave – the clips that Ms. Ter Molen chose to use are relevant and the most pertinent to Hallyu. The content would definitely be culturally responsive to my students who love KPop. I also appreciated the websites she had that broke down lessons into grade level.
Overall, the Kimbap lesson was very fun. I would have liked to hear more about the opportunities to learn the Korean language. Great job on the language resource course and videos.
Lecture on understanding Korean American students and families by Jung Hae Kim – once again, we rarely get to hear such stories about the Korean American students and their families. This was so incredibly relevant. I hear about Korea everyday, but I rarely hear about the life experiences and culture of Korean Americans.
I absolutely loved visiting the first Korean church and the museum of Korean American history, focusing on the Korean Independence Movement. I loved the Friendship Bell as well. The Rock Chef events were terrific and I loved the Korean history lectures.
The evening event of celebrating Mary Connor’s book publication was a delightful event. It was remarkable to see so many industry experts attending the event to help with the celebration. The food was fantastic! And with so many dignitaries attending to celebrate together, it was a very meaningful occasion that I am very glad to have been a part of.
Friday:
Dual immersion program by Ellen Park – Our school has a global leadership focus and we do have a Korean and Vietnamese language class – exploring dual language immersion – because of this, I believe that this lecture is important to bring to my classroom.
The Taekwondo demonstration was amazing! The students were super adorable.
The Korean metal printing lecture by Dr. Eun Hee Koo was very engaging. I believe that this content would be important to bring to my classroom because the history unit about the industrial revolution (Jikji before Gutenburg) would be appropriate.
The Tea Ceremony was wonderful. I had even wished that more people would be able to participate in it as volunteers. I appreciated the responsiveness of the facilitators.
Lunch outing was great; and wished that there would be more time for discussion with the other teachers.
Sijo lecture and presentation was very impressive. I was happy that a lot of my colleagues participated in the Sijo submission challenge.
I thought this seminar was a very well-rounded seminar with cultural activities, both hands-on and observing. I learned a lot about Korean culture that I didn’t know about before. The only wish was that the seminar would happen before or after the LA traffic for the local commuters! Otherwise, this was a great seminar.
I thought the organizers did an awesome job at meeting the needs and wants of all the participants regardless of grade level–K-College. I really think this made the difference in presenting a wonderful conference.
Korean History and Culture Seminar for Educators / www.koreanseminar.org 