March 19-29, 2008 

The spring 2008 fellowship study tour program was implemented from March 19 through 29 in Korea for a group of ten American teachers, academics and education policymakers. Arriving in Seoul, the group's first stop was the Academy of Korean Studies. The academy, which houses the fellows in its sisupje (guest house), serves as a springboard both for the group's exploration of Seoul as well as its understanding of Korean culture. During the first two days of the trip, the participants alternated between on-campus lectures in Korean music, architecture and history with field trips to downtown Seoul, Leeum Museum and Kyongbok Palace. On Saturday, March 23, the group went where no fellowship program has gone before: North Korea. Boarding buses in the morning for a day trip across the DMZ, the group visited historical sites such as the Confucian Academy and its shrine dedicated to scholar Chong Mong-ju, as well as the Sungkyunkwan and the National Museum of Art in Kaesong, the capital city during the Koryo kingdom. The Pakyon Falls as well as a Buddhist temple near Kaesong were also included in the North Korean itinerary. Returning to South Korea, the fellows spent another night in Seoul, then moved beyond the capital to visit historical, cultural and religious sites in the South of the country. Between visits to Haeinsa monastery, the Early Printing Museum in Chongju and Yangdong Village, where residents live out the agrarian traditions of their ancestors, the fellows toured the Wong Pyong Middle School, observing the methods of their Korean counterparts. Returning to Seoul for a farewell dinner on March 29, the fellows departed for America on March 30.

Spring fellow Fred Bjornstad had the following reflections up on returning from the tour:

The 2008 Spring Fellowship in Korean Studies provided an unusually rich academic experience, comparable to an NEH or Gilder-Lehrman seminar. It was academically rigorous, led by congenial individuals with broad expertise, and made effective educational use of a variety of sites and sources. Not the least of its virtues was its flexibility. The trip's organizers were constantly revising the agenda to take advantage of opportunities to enhance the experience, most significantly the additions of the daytrip to Kaesong. The program has made a major difference in how Asian history is taught at [at my school] and I hope to develop [additional] materials for use in the lower grades. I have also drawn on my experiences while participating in other events related to international education. At every one, I heartily recommend the Korean Studies programs to other teachers and administrators.

Spring 2008 Fellowship Participants 

Robert Austin

Utah State Office of Education

Salt Lake City, UT

Fred A. Bjornstad

Morrestown High School

Morrestown, NJ

Elva Card

W.T. Woodson High School

Fairfax, VA

Kimberly Hase

Macomb Intermediate School District

Clinton Township, MI

Susan Martimo

California Department of Education

Sacramento, CA

Karl R. Neumann

Dana Hall School

Wellesley, MA

Trudi Niewiaroski

Richard Montgomery High School

Rockville, MD

John R. Rosenberg

Brigham Young University

Provo, UT

Gary F. Dei Rossi

San Joaquin County Office of Education

Stockton, CA

Guven Peter Witteveen

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI