2019 Korean History and Cultural Seminar for Educators - Handbook 2019 NKS Handbook-0617 | Page 103

Information for Elementary Administrators and Teachers:
The Power Point lecture, What Koreans want Americans to Know about Korea, should be of interest
to educators who want to know more about Korea’s past and the present. This Power Point is highly
recommended and provides important background for understanding Korean American students and
their families.
Korean Etiquette: Helpful Information for Educators: See pages 281-283 of the e-book
Ideas for bringing East Asian Culture (and cultures from other regions of the world) into classrooms
for elementary students: Opportunities are created for students to experience East Asian cultures;
lessons offer different options for students of varied abilities. The lesson could lead to adapting this
approach to other cultures represented at the school. Parents, faculty, and local speakers might be
willing to come to classrooms and to introduce some aspect of their culture, such as teaching
Taekwondo or Tai Chi, introducing Fung Shui, and celebrating the Chinese/Korean New Year by eating
mooncakes or creating folk art. See e-book for ideas on pp. 272-276. Lessons on Korean folk art appear
on pp. 184-190. Students could teach their classmates basic greetings in languages that are spoken in
their homes.
Power Point lectures that might be adopted by elementary teachers: Introduction to Korea, King
Tangun (a creation story), Chuseok (Korea’s thanksgiving), Korean Calligraphy, Korean Flag, Korean
Food, Korean National Anthem, Korean National Flower, Taekwondo, and Pre-Modern Korea (not the
California version).
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Kindergarten: Learning and Working Now and Long Ago
Standard K.1 Students understand that being a good citizen involves acting in certain ways.
a. To support ideas of good citizenship, teachers could introduce children to Confucian values, such as
respect and benevolence, filial devotion, and loyalty. See lesson on Confucianism on pages 222-226.
b. Students further their study of good citizenship by learning about people who exhibit honesty,
courage, determination, show individual responsibility, and patriotism in American and world history.
Teachers may introduce students to important historical figures who exhibit these characteristics, such
as King Sejong, Shin Saimdang, and Yi I on pages 51 and 52.
c. There are monographs and lesson plans on the Korea Society website (www.KoreaSociety.org),
Introduction to Korea through art and folk tales (lessons for K-6 grades). Go to Education, scroll down
to Resources, then Lessons and Monographs. It’s long, but promising.
Grade One – A Child’s Place in Time and Space
Standard 1.4 (3) Recognize similarities of earlier generations in such areas as work (inside and outside
the home), dress, manners, stories, games, and festivals, drawing from biographies, oral histories, and
folklore. This allows for stories from parents and grandparents on what life was like at an earlier time.
The Grade One Standards includes Francis Carpenter’s Tales of a Korean Grandmother and Cinderella
stories for varied cultures. This allows for the opportunity to introduce The Korean Cinderella by Shirley
Climo. Refer also to suggestions mentioned for Kindergarten.

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