2019 Korean History and Cultural Seminar for Educators - Handbook 2019 NKS Handbook-0617 | Page 112

To stress the importance of education in Korea, the Values Lesson: Four Famous Koreans might be
introduced. U.S. currency has images of American heroes – politicians and military people. In South
Korea, the currency reflects the value placed on education. Three famous Koreans are introduced –
two men and one woman. They are all scholars. The lesson begins on page 51 and ends on page 53.
A teacher might ask three or four members of the class to read the first person accounts of four
famous Koreans. The lesson begins on page 45. The new California history textbooks approved by the
Department of Education include Queen Sejong, King Sejong, and Admiral Yi Sun-Shin. Yu Kwan-Sun is
a 20 th century teenage girl who sacrificed her life to protest Japanese occupation. Her story is
historically accurate and poignant (page 49).
Language Arts:
A Bully in the Classroom: Teaching Our Twisted Hero: A Modern Korean Classic by Yi Munyul. Our
Twisted Hero is a short novel that tells the personal story of an individual child struggling with the all
too common dynamics of bullying and conformism that will immediately engage high school students.
Copies available on Amazon for under $3.00.
Lost Names (Japanese occupation of Korea) by Richard Kim (pp. 158-160) is historically accurate,
beautifully written, and very touching. It is a powerful story of courage and endurance.
Tears of Blood: A Korean Prisoner of War’s Fight for Freedom, Family, and Justice (North Korea) pp.
82-83. The book was translated by Paul Kim, a young Korean American whose grandmother insisted
that he grow up fluent in the Korean language. Inspired by the author’s story, Kim subsequently
translated the book when he was a junior in high school.
Reading and Writing the Sijo (a Korean poetic form) Information is provided on pages 165-170 that
explains how to teach sijo and includes good examples of student work. More details are available on
the Internet (www.sejongculturalsociety.org). The Sejong Cultural Society offers annual sijo poetry
contests with generous monetary awards.
Applied Art and Advanced Placement Art History Classes:
A Study of Korean Art and Architecture (pp. 173-178) provides opportunities for short research
projects for individuals or a class research project.
A Comparative Study of East Asian and American Landscape Painting (pp. 179-183). For Applied Art
and Advanced Placement Art History.
Korean Folk Art (pp. 184-190) Also view the Power Point Lecture on Korean Folk Art (Minhwa).
There are also two additional lessons (pp. 191-193) titled Art and Technology and Installation Art, the
latter inspired a school-wide project.
Science Classes:
Science and Technology: The Past (pp. 237-240) and Science and Technology: The Present (pp. 241-
242).

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