Introducing Korea through Art & Folktales: Lessons for Grades K-6

by Cathy Spagnoli and Anne Drillick

Art and storytelling are essential elements of primary grade education, and Introducing Korea through Art & Folktales introduces Korea's rich cultural heritage through subjects that capture young imaginations: mountain scrolls, fans, tigers, dragons, the Korean alphabet (han'gul), pagodas, and the Korean traditional wrapping cloth (chogakpo).

Korean Voices: Growing Up During a Time of Crisis

This is a literature-based teaching unit for students in middle and junior high schools. The unit is built around two novels, Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul and Lost Names by Richard E. Kim. Set near the end of World War II, the novels detail the lives of two Korean families living under the Japanese occupation. The 19 lessons of the unit use the novels to teach students about Korean culture and history.

Korea: Lessons for High School Social Studies Courses

This collection of lesson plans serves as an introduction to Korea’s distinctive historical and cultural legacy. Organized thematically for the convenience of teachers who are interested in incorporating lessons on Korea into their social studies classes, each of the 12 lesson plans in the book can be taught in conjunction with lessons about other geographical regions or modified to suit a variety of classroom subjects. The book includes photographic materials, a reference section, a list of Internet sites and a bibliography of resources.

Korea: Lessons for Elementary School

Nine lessons designed for U.S. elementary school students features activities on the geography of Korea, cultural customs, historical symbols, trade, the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics, visual arts and storytelling. The volume's hands-on activities are especially appealing for early elementary students.

Getting to Know Korea: Resource Book for K–12 Educators

by Katrin A. Fraser, Bruce Fulton, Bonnie S. Kim, Helen Koh, Gari Ledyard, Barry McGaw, Mark Peterson, et alia

This is a book of readings for teachers seeking to acquire a deeper knowledge of Korea. Fifteen chapters cover a wide variety of topics in history, literature, the family, economics and society, and social change. Authors are comprised of today’s prominent Korean Studies scholars.

Brief History of Korea: A Bird’s Eye View

by Young Ick Lew

An overview of Korean history from its earliest beginnings to the present by one of Korea's leading historians, Brief History of Korea is a useful resource for both teachers and students.

The Silk Road is pivotal in world history and East Asian history courses. But the role of Korea and Japan in the Silk Road trade and the impact of the Silk Road on their respective societies are generally ignored. Most maps of the Silk Road do not extend into the territories of Korea nor Japan. This book is aimed at correcting that oversight with information on the breadth of Korea’s involvement in transmitting goods and ideas along the Silk Road. The accompanying lesson book, Silla Korea and the Silk Road, examines whether Korea’s Silla kingdom benefited from its links to the Silk Road, and raises questions about the contemporary issues surrounding globalization. Silla Korea and the Silk Road: Golden Age, Golden Threads contains 158 pages of maps and photographs, 26 handouts and 2 articles for advanced readers. Also included are guidelines on where to include Silla Korea in to the world history curriculum, a pronunciation guide and bibliography.

Teaching More About Korea

A collection of lesson plans on various topics for grades K–12 is prepared by each year’s teacher participants in The Korea Society’s Summer Fellowship in Korean Studies program. Also available in print as an on-demand, unbound volume.